Sweet Surrender
by LyricalKris
Summary: The last thing you expect to see in a cupcake supply shop is a very large man in a pink, frilly apron. Then again, Emmett McCarty wasn't ever what anyone expected, least of all his boss, Bella.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So… this is what happens when I tell my group, "I passed by a cupcake supply shop, and there was this big, buff guy standing there." It just got out of control and, long story short, I'm writing my first Emmett/Bella fic. What?**

 **Peer pressure, man. Peer pressure!**

 **Come join my Facebook group if you want to get in on the peer pressuring.**

* * *

"I'm sorry. This is probably the wrong thing to say during a job interview, but has anyone ever told you that you shouldn't play poker?"

Bella wrinkled her nose as she looked at the man on the other side of her desk, but she had to smile. "I have heard that before. No poker face. It's a curse."

"Nothing wrong with honesty," her applicant, one Emmett McCarty, said.

"No, I'm blatantly stereotyping." Bella shook her head. "That's not okay."

Emmett had a nice smile. It was one of those full-of-teeth smiles, and yet neither intimidating nor goofy looking. It suited him, and it matched the light in his blue eyes. "Why don't you ask the question you want to ask?" His tone was almost teasing. "That way you can satisfy your curiosity, and I know you're going to reject my application for something other than how I look."

Bella felt her cheeks heat. For some strange reason, her first impulse was to argue. Emmett McCarty just wasn't the kind of guy anyone would expect to see in a bakery supply shop at all. Especially not one like this one, with its hot pink and dark purple walls and frills everywhere. It wasn't just that he was a man. He was an Incredible Hulk-sized man, all ridiculously broad shoulders and a full foot taller than Bella. He was handsome on top of it, with a head full of dark curls and a perfect dimple on one cheek.

"Okay, I'll bite," Bella said with a sigh. "How the hell does a guy like you know this much about cupcake making?"

He did know his stuff. He'd conversed with her easily about piping tips, colored liners, best batter consistency tips and tricks.

"You don't think it's because I really like eating cupcakes?" he asked. She gave him a look, and he chuckled. "Okay, well…" He rubbed the back of his head in an absent gesture. "I guess the first thing you need know is that my mom has some seriously bad luck. She got knocked up with me at sixteen, right? You've heard this part of the story, I'm sure. Guy gets off scot-free, girl stays behind to figure out how to raise a kid.

"But, Mom pulled it together. We made a good team, my mom and I, and it was fine." His grin got even wider. "I was a bit of a handful, but Mom was up for the challenge." He waved his hand, seemingly aware that he was getting off point. "So anyway, about ten years ago, my mom decides it's safe to try to love again. She rolls the dice, and, long story short, it comes up snake eyes. Mom gets a broken heart, but we got my baby sister, Mary Alice, out of the bargain."

At his sister's name, Emmett's smile got impossibly gentle. It was clear he adored his little sister. Bella's heart warmed.

"When Alice was five, she was really into YouTube." Emmett rolled his eyes. "I know, but I had school and the odd jobs I did for the neighbors. We, my mom and I, checked her search history all the time to make sure she wasn't getting into anything bad. It was all innocent stuff. She was fascinated by these videos that showed how to make clothes and jewelry."

"And cupcakes?" Bella suggested, seeing where this was going.

Emmett nodded. "She kept bugging Mom to try some of it. It looked simple to her, of course. We didn't have a sewing machine or the collection of beads to get into the jewelry. The cupcakes seemed the easiest. But even that was still complicated, right? Because Alice didn't want the out-of-the-box cupcakes. She wanted everything done by hand, and then to figure out how to do that really fancy piping.

"Mom… My mom is great, okay? She's a great mom, but there's only one of her. She was more working two jobs. She didn't have time to figure out fancy cupcake swirls. Like anyone knew what the heck a piping tip was at that point or that someone would think to make their own frosting. That stuff comes out of a can."

"But you did," Bella said, her smile almost as wide as his now.

He shrugged. "I did it for Alice on a whim. It wasn't as easy as it looked, and that, well… I guess it kind of pissed me off. So I had to keep at it until I conquered the damn thing."

"And here you are," Bella finished. "That was a very personal story. I'm sorry I made you tell it."

"Ah." He waved a hand. "It's not a big deal. I don't have much of a filter, so I'm an open book." His grin came back in full force. "Except at poker. I'm good at poker."

Bella smirked. "Well, we can't all be that talented." She eyed him. "You've seen the uniform, right?"

"I think your pink, frilly apron would be just darling on me," he said, and she couldn't believe he kept a straight face.

"I hate the damn things. That's why I became the boss; so I could stop wearing them." She drummed her fingers on the desk and nodded. "Okay, Emmett. Can you start on Friday?"

"Seriously?" he asked, his eyebrows arching.

"They accuse me of being serious, yeah."

"That's great, Ms. Swan. Really great. You have no idea what this means to me."

"Who could refuse a story like that? I bet it plays well with the girls."

That earned another modest shrug. "Maybe it would. I wouldn't know."

"Oh." Well, that explained a lot. "Ah, okay. So, Friday?" She offered her hand to shake.

He took it. His grip was firm and warm. "Friday."

* * *

 **A/N: So…**

 **Thanks to Mina (that banner though, damn), to Jess and Ausha (Especially for the cupcake lingo...my frosting comes from cans. Actually, let's be honest, I buy my cupcakes, frosting and all), MoH, Packeh, Betsy, and Eleanor.**

 **... Okay, so, I'm nervous. What do we think so far?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: NGL, I'm totally blown away by the love for an Emmett/Bella pairing. I didn't see that one coming!**

* * *

All things considered, it was a pretty sweet gig.

Emmett snickered at his own pun and hummed as he stocked the shelves. It had been a slow day. Well, it was a damn cupcake supply shop. They really didn't have rushes. Yet, surprisingly enough, they always had enough business to be comfortable, at least as far as he knew. There had to be a reason they could afford to keep him on and at such a decent salary too.

"Has anyone ever told you you're pleasant to be around?"

Emmett glanced up to see that Carlisle Cullen had come to lean against the counter, poring over paperwork as usual. The Cullen family owned the little shop. It was typically Carlisle he saw.

"That's part of why Bella hired me, right? Gotta have a good attitude. No one wants to buy cupcake supplies from a grump."

"True, but there's a difference between a pleasant person and an always-happy person."

"Nothing not to be happy about," he said with a shrug, carefully lifting the newest cupcake stand out of its box. It was an ornate thing. Expensive and way too delicate for his tastes, but no one had asked him.

"I told you. I think Emmett's perpetual cheer needs to be studied under a microscope."

Emmett straightened up at the sound of Bella's voice. She looked tired, as per usual. As far as Emmett could tell, she hardly ever left the damn shop.

Tired but still pretty. Emmett had told himself about a thousand times that crushing on his boss wasn't a good idea, but common sense had never stopped him before. Apparently, it wasn't about to start now.

As Bella sidled up, Carlisle reacted automatically. He angled his body toward her, and as they bent their heads together to go over whatever Bella had brought for him to look over, he put his hand to her back.

Yeah. That was the other reason it was a bad idea to crush on his boss. She was the owner's girlfriend. Maybe. Probably. It was kind of weird. Carlisle had to be, what, at least a decade older than Bella? But hey, who was Emmett to judge? It wasn't his fault he was only twenty years old, and there was no way Bella would be interested in a guy like him.

Whatever. No skin off his back. The only reason the thought kept occurring to him was because he saw Bella nearly every day. So he noticed she was hot. He had eyes, that was all.

"Hey, did I speak too soon?"

"Gah." It wasn't so much that Emmett was startled to hear Bella's voice so near his ear as it was the way his body reacted to it. It sent a vibration that went straight to his dick, and that was a problem.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you." Bella sounded amused. "It's just that you look all concerned for once in your life. You got the brow furrow and everything."

"Oh, no. Not the brow furrow. I'll get wrinkles." He winked at her and was pleased when she grinned. He turned back to his task of getting the new display set up. "I was just concentrating; that's all. I don't think I could afford it if I broke this."

"Give me a break. You know we wouldn't charge you. Besides, you're surprisingly nimble."

"Why is that surprising, huh? You thinking about my size again, boss?" Okay, that was a little too double entendre-y. He cleared his throat, but he still smirked. "You think a big oaf like me can't be graceful?" He cocked his head to the side, considering. "I wanted to be a ballerina when I was four."

Bella giggled. She straight up giggled. It was a strangled sounding noise; like maybe she didn't want to laugh like that. Still, it was a nice sound, and Emmett found himself smiling back. She clapped a hand over her mouth as though to hide her mirth. "Sorry. I just pictured you in tights." She tittered again behind her hand.

"Why would you want to torture yourself with that image?"

"Anyway." Bella emphasized the word, ending that particular conversation. "I was going to ask you if you're interested in picking up a couple more hours. You don't have class tonight, do you?"

"I don't have class. You want me to stay until closing?"

"Yeah, if it's no trouble. Carlisle forgot he has dinner with his parents. You know he doesn't like me to close up alone."

Emmett couldn't blame the man for that one. The strip mall was a touch too dark at night for Emmett to be comfortable with Bella walking the empty parking lot alone. What Emmett could blame the other man for was leaving his girlfriend behind while he went to a family dinner. That seemed wrong.

But he was probably reading too much into it. Probably they just didn't want to leave him alone there. That was cool. Emmett was working on earning their trust.

"It's no trouble. You know I could always use the cash," Emmett said.

"Great. You're the best." She started to turn away but then turned back. "Oh, don't forget you have high tea at three, okay?"

"No problem, boss."

Another hour later, and Emmett was baking using the mini-cupcake maker stashed behind the counter. They had a cupcake of the day, and part of his job was to keep their little shelf stocked and the store smelling like baked goods. Carlisle wandered back in and scented the air. "That smells amazing."

"Today's special is churro cupcakes," Emmett said. "I took Alice to Downtown Disney for dinner last night. Special treat, ya know, because she got a good report card. We had a churro afterward, and I thought, I could make this a cupcake."

"Good plan."

Emmett hadn't ever been good at impulse control, so he shouldn't have been surprised when the next thing out of his mouth was completely inappropriate. "Hey, so. How long have you and Bella been dating."

Carlisle's head snapped up, his eyes gone wide. Emmett had to fight not to grimace. "Sorry. I guess that was a personal question. I was just talking." He turned back to his piping, arranging a careful leaf and ruffle design on top of the cupcake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

"You just startled me," Carlisle said. Emmett was relieved to hear his voice was steady as ever and not angry. "Bella and I aren't a couple, though I'm flattered you would think that."

Now it was Emmett's turn to look up in surprise. "Really? You guys seem so close, I guess."

"We are close." Carlisle's voice was tender as he spoke. "But it's more of a little sister thing for me." A look of sadness came over his face then. "See, she married my much younger brother right out of high school."

"She's married?" Emmett blurted.

"She was." There was something so pained about Carlisle's expression. "The poor thing was widowed at twenty. There was a freak accident at the university they were both going to at the time. Edward was standing at the top of the stairs and paused to check a text, from Bella, actually. Another student was running—literally running—late to class. He came barrelling down the stairs without looking. They both fell down." He swallowed hard. "Edward didn't survive the head injury."

"Oh, man." Emmett rubbed his chest. His heart hurt. He thought about the sadness he saw sometimes in Bella's eyes. "That's heavy."

Carlisle sighed. "You know, when they married so young, I was worried for them. For what their lives would become. But what they had was so intense, it was almost scary. They had this beautiful life planned out. So many things they were going to do.

"When Edward died, everything changed. Mom and Dad asked Bella to come work for them mostly to give her something to do." He shook his head. "She's been great for our business, but I wish—"

He broke off then, seeming to realize he was babbling. "I'm sorry. I worry about her a lot."

"Hey, I understand what it's like to be a big brother. I don't know what I would have done if it was Alice." Emmett shuddered at the thought. The air around them seemed heavy, and that always made him uncomfortable. "So, big brother Carlisle, huh? How big of a big brother?"

"Ah. I was fifteen when Edward was born. Hence why I was so startled you'd think an old man like me could be with a woman like Bella. I just turned forty." Carlisle's lip twitched. "Edward was a surprise baby.

"I was too, so I know how great surprises can be." Emmett laughed. "Hey, you want to know something weird? You're actually older than my mom."

Carlisle's eyes just about bugged out of his head, and he gave a shocked laugh. "Really?"

"Yeah, I was a big surprise." He grinned. "Eleven pounds."

"Your poor mother." Carlisle gave him the once over. "Since we're apparently asking personal questions today, how old are you anyway?"

"Twenty-one next month."

"Ah. You could pass for older."

"Yep. I never had to get a fake ID."

Carlisle looked over at him, bemused, and Emmett winked just in case. Of course he'd bought booze before, but he wanted to give himself some room with plausible deniability with his employer.

At around two-thirty, the door opened. Emmett, preoccupied with a sale, didn't greet the new customer as he typically did. So he was a little startled when he heard a nearby voice whisper, "What the hell," a minute later.

Emmett wished his buyer a good day and turned to where his roommate, Jasper Whitlock, had sidled up and was leaning on the counter. His eyes were wide and incredulous as he looked around. "Dude," he said, taking in the hot pink walls and the advertisements for sparkly decorations. "I feel like I stepped into an episode of My Little Ponies or the Care Bears or some shit."

"Hey, I'm not the one who did the decorating."

Jasper looked at him and his grin got huge. "Oh, man. Who told you that you could pull off that apron?"

Emmett jutted his hip to the side and put his hand there. "Bitch, please. You know I look fabulous."

"You should have seen him the first day," Bella said, coming out of the back room in time to catch their conversation. "Our largest apron covered just the middle of his chest. We had to special order him one."

Jasper looked delighted at this information. "Please tell me someone took a picture."

Emmett rolled his eyes. "Jasper, be good. This is my boss, Bella Swan. Bella, this is my dumbass roommate Jasper." Emmett reached over and mussed Jasper's hair.

Jasper swatted at his hands. "Touch the hair at your peril."

Bella looked between them. "Your roommate, huh?" For some reason, it sounded like there were air quotes around the word roommate. "Didn't you say you live with your mom?"

"My folks didn't take well to me telling them I was a big queer," Jasper said with a grin. "Esme took me in, so Em and I are literally roommates."

"Oh. That's very understanding of her." She offered Jasper her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Same."

"The Stanley party should be here in fifteen minutes," she said to Emmett.

"I'm not going to forget," he promised. "In fact, I was about to get the tea ready."

"Thanks, Emmett." Bella disappeared again, clipboard in hand.

"They throw parties in here?" Jasper asked, looking around at the short aisles of cupcake making supplies.

"Tea parties, over there in the corner." Emmett pointed with his chin. He was busy arranging tiny tea cups on a large tray.

Jasper peered and then he scoffed. "That is a tiny table."

"Hey, that works out since they're tea parties for tiny people."

As though on cue, a clamor drew both men's attention to the doorway. Sure enough, there were four tiny girls being herded in the door by a harried looking blond woman.

"You are obligated by bro code not to watch this," Emmett said, wagging a finger at Jasper.

Jasper's grin brightened. "Yeah, right. Like that's going to happen."

So, of course, Jasper followed behind Emmett as he went to greet the girls. He exclaimed over how pretty they looked in their dresses. He indulged them when one of them asked how strong he was, and let two of them hang off each arm as he did a couple of curls.

"Okay. Now that I've done my weightlifting for the day, how about some tea and cupcakes?" Emmett asked. The girls cheered, jumping up and down. "Since there's only four of you munchkins, if you want to invite a friend over to tea, you can." Emmett patted a shelf filled with dolls and stuffed animals.

"How 'bout this one." A little blond girl named Jessica came to stand by Jasper. She clung to his hand, swinging it a bit as she stared up at him. "Will you be my friend? You want some tea?"

It was hilarious to watch Jasper's smirk fall. He got all flustered. "I'm not… I mean, I don't—"

"He'd be happy to be your friend." Emmett gave his back a couple of thwacks, holding back a chortle. "This is Jasper. Have a seat." He gestured to the truly tiny stools at the small table, giving his friend a shit-eating grin.

Jasper was a good sport, which wasn't surprising given how indulgent he was when Alice wanted something. Being Emmett's best friend, he'd likewise grown up with a precocious little kid puppy-dogging after him. Alice adored Jasper. When she was the age these kids were now, she'd announced she was in love with him.

So, Jasper sat, looking utterly ridiculous with his long legs pulled almost up to his chin. He entertained the girls as Emmett served tea—really fruit punch—and an assortment of miniature cupcakes he'd made for the occasion. Emmett took particular pleasure when he broke out the crowns they gave as favors. He set one primly on Jasper's head, much to the delight of the girls.

One of the girls, another blond named Rosalie, seemed dour, never really getting as excited as the others. So, Emmett made it his mission to make her smile. By the end of tea-time, she was giggling. It was a reserved giggle, but a happy one. And right before he announced it was time to clean up, little Rosalie got on her stool and launched herself into Emmett's arms. She didn't say anything, but gave him a big smooch on the cheek.

As though feeling eyes on him, Emmett glanced up and noticed Bella standing across the shop. She was watching him with a gentle smile he'd never seen on her before. When she noticed he'd seen her, she straightened up, turned, and headed again for her office in the back.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope that brightened up your Monday morning.**

 **I'll see you soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This is a good fic to update on a Monday, I think. Start your week off with some sugar.**

* * *

It was only four weeks after Emmett started working there that Bella made him a copy of the key to the front door. It was fortuitous because four days after that, Bella's car broke down. She called Emmett.

"'Lo?" he answered sounding adorably groggy.

"Emmett? I'm so sorry to bother you."

"Boss lady?" He yawned, and she couldn't help but think of him, his eyes half-hooded with sleep and his chest bare.

Wait, what? Barechested? Why?

"Mmm. Bella? Are you there?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, sorry." Bella shook her head, dismissing whatever the hell that had been about. "Look, my car won't start."

Another yawn. "You want I should take a look at it?"

Bella laughed, startled. "No. I can take care of that part. I do need someone to open the store though."

There was a pause on the other end. "Oh. Oh, yeah. That makes more sense." She heard the creak of bedsprings and one more yawn. "Yeah. I'll be there in fifteen."

It didn't take Bella so long to get her car in order. It wasn't anything major. Her car was just a PoS. She managed to get it to the store where she parked in the back, needing to make sure a few deliveries had arrived on time.

With that chore done, Bella made her way to the front of the store. There, she stopped short when she heard the tell tale sound of someone singing.

"You're insecure. Don't know what for. You're turning heads when you walk through the do-o-or."

Bella knew exactly one One Direction song. She knew that song because the radio had played it every five seconds. It was one of the reasons she'd worked hard to get a sound system installed that played her own playlist.

The playlist wasn't on. Rather, it was Emmett singing. Not only was he singing, but he was performing the song, pulling some intricate dance moves as he used the broom as a microphone. "Baby, you light up my world like nobody else. The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed."

Emmett, following the lyrics, shook his head, sending his luscious curls into a frenzy. Bella, who'd been determined to keep quiet, couldn't hold in a loud guffaw.

Emmett spun around, his eyes wide. Bella clapped a hand over her mouth, but she could feel her face turning red. After a second, Emmett shrugged and went right back into the song, performing for her instead.

"If only you could see what I could see, you'd understand why I want you so desperately."

In spite of herself, Bella shivered. Before she could dwell on why, Emmett brought the song to an end with a killer finishing move and a low bow. Bella clapped and whistled.

"One Direction, Emmett?" She shrugged. "It's not that I can't see the appeal. They are very pretty boys."

"Sure." Emmett laughed and shook his head. "It's a game Alice likes. Just Dance 4. I memorized the moves; that's all."

"Right." She tapped her chin. "The one with the hair has potential. Maybe."

He gave her a bemused look. "Well, sure. I do love me some luscious, long hair."

"Like Jasper," Bella said with a nod.

"Uh, yeah. I guess." He cleared his throat. "Anyway. Sorry about that, boss. Back to the grindstone and all. I'll save the dancing for the next time Alice wants to play."

The door jingled as a customer came in. Bella looked over to see a woman and a young girl walked in. The girl, a raven-haired, skinny, slip of a thing—had big, beautiful eyes that sparkled as she looked around excitedly. She spotted Emmett and her eyes lit up even more. "Emmy!" she cried, and came at him like a bullet from a gun.

"Speak of the devil and she will appear," Emmett said with a grin. He put down the broom in time to catch the girl as she leaped into his arms.

She hugged him, but just as quickly was on her feet, bouncing in place. "I'm not the devil."

"Only because you're no angel." He ruffled her hair, ignoring her vehement protests, and looked over her head at the woman who'd walked up at a more dignified pace. "Hey, Mom."

Bella had no idea what she was expecting when she thought about Emmett's mother, but this woman wasn't it. For one thing, she looked far too young to have a son that big. For another, she looked far too small to have given birth to a bear of a man like Emmett.

"Hey, Bella. This is my mom, Esme, and my bratty baby sister, Alice," Emmett said, wrapping one arm around each of his ladies. "Guys, this is my boss, Bella."

"So you're the one I have to thank for Emmett," Bella said with a smile, taking and shaking Esme's hand.

Her smile was warm. Now that Bella had a closer look, all three of them had the same beautiful, soft, brown eyes. "Guilty as charged. Unless he's acting up. Then, I found him in a cabbage patch with a onesie that said 'born to be bad'.'"

"See?" Alice craned her head to look up at her brother. " _You're_ the devil."

"Shut it, squirt." Emmett cupped both his massive hands over Alice's much smaller mouth.

Bella grinned and looked back to Esme. "Emmett's great. Not a bad bone in his body."

"She doesn't know about the arm I broke climbing that tree," Emmett said in a stage whisper.

"Twice." Esme held up two fingers. "The same arm. I thought they were going to take him away from me."

At that point, Alice's enthusiasm bubbled over. She shook Emmett's arm. "Em, are you still going to get me cupcake stuff for my birthday?"

"Is it your birthday?" Bella asked.

Alice turned her bright eyes on her. "Yeah. You can get me a present, too, if you want." She gave Bella a smile that suggested she knew how benevolent and generous she was being for offering.

Bella hid a grin and Emmett snorted. "Hey now," he said. "I'd appreciate if you don't try to extort my boss. You're going to get me fired."

"Worth a try." Alice shrugged. "Can I really get whatever I want?"

Emmett crossed his arms over his chest, giving her a stern look. "Well, I'd appreciate if you didn't get one of those big, spendy monstrosities. You don't actually own a bakery, Ally."

"Not yet," she said brightly, and scampered off down the aisle. Esme flashed an apologetic smile before she took off after her daughter.

"She's a trip," Bella said, endlessly amused.

"Yeah. Ally is...Well, she's ours, anyway." Emmett's smile was adoring as he watched his baby sister bounce around the store.

"And a beauty too. And your mom is gorgeous." Bella cocked her head, giving Emmett a once over. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Oh, don't even try that with me, boss." Emmett batted his eyelashes. "You see that? Long, beautiful eyelashes." He pointed to his cheeks. "The dimples." He gave his head a shake. "The hair. This face. The smile. The body is a give or take. You either like the muscles or you don't. Nope. I'm aware of my assets."

She schooled her expression to be unimpressed. "You forgot something."

"What's that?"

"You have a huge…"

Emmett's eyebrows arched, and he cocked his head.

"Ego," she finished succinctly. She smiled sweetly at him, and then walked away as he straight out bellowed with laughter. Bella shook her head, though mostly at herself. What the hell was it about Emmett that made her think she could joke like that?

Oh, well. It wasn't as though this family-run cupcake supply shop was a corporate environment. Emmett seemed to take her joke in stride, but she shouldn't push it.

Finishing up her lecture to herself, Bella got down to the business of markdowns. The items they were discontinuing or that were just a little banged up needed to be put on clearance. She set about her task, listening to Alice's excited babble as she told her mother what everything was used for.

The door jangled again. "Minions. Oh, minions. I come bearing gifts," Carlisle called.

There was the pitter-patter of little feet, and then Alice said, "Did you say gifts? It's my birthday. They must be for me."

Bella peered down the aisle, catching Carlisle's patient and bemused smile as he looked down at the little girl.

"Ally." Emmett sounded exasperated. "The whole world doesn't actually revolve around you. The gifts are for me and Bella."

Carlisle had brought lunch. Something that smelled delicious. Alice looked at her brother, obviously confused. "Why would you get presents on my birthday?"

"They're not real presents."

"But he said gifts. That's presents."

" _Alice._ " Esme shook her head as she came to stand behind her daughter, her hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry."

Carlisle looked from Alice to Esme, and something happened. Bella watched it happen. Carlisle, smiling at the precocious little girl, raised his head to address her mother and Bella thought she could hear the click. It happened so quickly, most people—especially anyone who didn't know Carlisle well—would have missed it. They would have missed the way his eyes went wide for just a split second, and that his breath caught in his throat. "No, it's…" He chuckled, a nervous sound, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I always thought that your birthday was the one day every year where everyone had to be nice to you."

Esme looked back at him, and their gaze held for a beat longer than normal. "That'd be nice, wouldn't it?"

"This is just food," Alice said, having gotten into the bags Carlisle brought.

Esme ripped her gaze away from Carlisle and gasped, pulling her daughter back. "Alice. What do you think you're doing?" Shaking her head, she looked back at Carlisle. "I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. I like kids." Carlisle said with a genuine smile.

"Do you have any?"

"Just these two." Carlisle pulled both Bella and Emmett under his arms. Well, he put his arm around Emmett's back, anyway.

Before Emmett or Bella could set him straight, Esme laughed. "You want to take that one off my hands, huh?" she asked, her eyes cutting to her son. "Well, you're a little late, but what the hell. Go ahead and take him."

"Thanks, Ma. I love you too," Emmett said with a grin. "See what happens next time you and Shrimp Jr. need something from the top shelf."

Carlisle's eyes about bugged out of his head. "Oh. Emmett's your son."

"Not anymore. Apparently, I'm all yours." Emmett gave Carlisle a couple of healthy thumps on the back. "Can we go to the zoo, Daddy C?"

Alice looked between all of them, her expression unimpressed. "You're all weird," she proclaimed, and abandoned them to continue perusing the shelves.

Some time later, after Carlisle had volunteered to personally show them around the store, Alice had decided on a pretty rack that held bottles of sprinkles. She'd then filled the little rack with six bottles of different kinds of sprinkles, including one full of teensy, gold, Harry Potter lightning bolts and something attractively called unicorn barf.

The little girl was practically vibrating with happiness when she brought her purchases to the front. "Can I really get all of them, Em? Really? That's seven things, not one."

"Well, I guess you're spoiled rotten, aren't ya?" Emmett began to scan the items.

Wordlessly, Bella came up beside him. She didn't mean to, but he was so big, it was impossible to get to the register without pressing up against him. She quickly keyed in a code giving him twenty-five percent off.

"Whoa, what are you doing?"

She looked up, realizing belatedly that she'd grabbed ahold of his solid shoulder to keep her balance. His face was close, and she blinked, stunned for a heartbeat. "Um." She straightened up and smiled. "Family discount." She cleared her throat, wondering why she suddenly felt so awkward and bumbling. "Anyway, thanks for coming in early. After this, you can punch out and take off. I got you covered. Take the birthday girl out for an early dinner."

"He just ate lunch," Alice said. She still hadn't gotten over the fact that Carlisle's gift to his employees was just food.

Emmett tore his eyes away from Bella's to grin at his sister. "When has that ever stopped me? Listen, shrimp, you just have less space to fit all the food. Besides, maybe I'm just going to eat your birthday dessert while you have dinner."

"Na-uh. No. I get my birthday dessert." Alice put her hands on her hips and stared him down.

"Dunno. You're going to have to be quicker than me if you want to get to it." As he spoke, Emmett had dug his wallet out of his pocket and paid the bill.

"You're not going to take it," Alice said, sounding only a little unsure.

"Yeah? Who's going to stop me. Not you. I've seen your wrestling moves, and I could probably take you." He took off his apron.

"Mommy can take you." Alice looked over to Esme. "Right?"

"Hmm. I'll need a bit of help. How about a tag team."

Alice held out her hand, palm up. "Deal." She and Esme did some kind of secret, low-five, high-five handshake.

"Now how is that fair?" Emmett pretended to complain. He looked to Bella. "Thanks again, boss lady."

The family waved goodbye, leaving both Bella and Carlisle to watch them go.

 _ **~0~**_

The next day, Emmett came in all smiles, practically gushing about how much Alice had loved her birthday. How she thought Emmett had the coolest job ever, and that she really liked Carlisle and Bella. She had a great time at dinner but had ordered three desserts, informing the waitress that she didn't really trust her brother not to steal hers and that her mother didn't deserve to be left out just because her son was a brat.

"And then we got home, and Mom had set up a sewing machine in Alice's room." Emmett chortled. "She did that thing, you know, where she was speaking so fast it kind of all become one word. I thought she was going to die because I swear she didn't take a breath for two whole minutes."

"That's fantastic. Your family is really great."

"Yeah, they are. I told you, see?"

"I believed you. And your mother is awesome." Sweet as pie, that woman. Bella understood now why Emmett was the way he was.

Emmett snorted. "Yeah, I don't think you're the only one who thinks Mom is awesome."

Bella's eyes went wide, and she grinned. "You saw it then?"

"Saw Carlisle making eyes at my mother? Yeah, I caught that." He schooled his expression into one of badly-feigned nonchalance. "Does that happen often?"

Poker-face her ass. Still, she took pity on him and smiled. "Never that I know of." She cocked her head, her lips turning down slightly at the corners. "He's...I don't know. I was going to say he's a bit of a loner, but that's not true at all. Carlisle makes friends very easily, but he's a very lonely person. It was Edward who was…"

Bella's throat got tight, and she ducked her head. "Sorry," she said, her voice gone reedy and thin. "Edward was...Um. He...I…"

"He was your husband," Emmett finished for her, his tone quiet for once and gentle.

Bella looked up in surprise. "How…"

Emmett looked apologetic. "Carlisle told me. His little brother." Emmett reached out and touched her shoulder briefly. It was such a natural gesture of comfort. "Carlisle is lonely, and Edward was the loner," he prompted.

She hesitated a beat, but the words came surprisingly easily. "I don't want you to think badly of their parents." The elder Cullens came into the shop infrequently, but they were decent enough people.

"I won't. Scout's honor."

In spite of herself, Bella smiled a little. "Well, Edward was, ah, unexpected, and they were busy people. They _are_ busy people. That's why they don't come in much. And besides that, they're cold. Not mean or abusive or anything like that. Just distant.

"Carlisle wasn't like that though. He spent so much of his younger years giving Edward all the affection he could." Like Emmett with Alice, Bella realized, except that his mother was far from absent. "They were close. Kind of like he put all his capacity for affection and love into Edward instead of into relationships."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to dispel the heaviness that had come over her. "Anyway. It's like I said, Carlisle's really good at being lonely. He's kind of old school, so the dating scene these days throws him a bit, if that makes sense. The apps, flirting... it's just not who he is. He's been burned a few times. Luckily, nothing too serious, but enough that he's kind of gunshy. Guess that's a really long way of saying no, Carlisle doesn't look at anyone the way he looked at your mother yesterday. But you also don't have to worry. No way would he ever put the moves on her."

"Uh huh." Emmett's features were scrunched up, like he was thinking. He pressed his tongue against his bottom lip, making it jutt out. Bella had noticed he did that every once in awhile, when he was concentrating. "What if I wanted to worry?"

Bella furrowed her brows. "About what? What do you mean?"

He huffed. "Look, Mom always tells me that thinking things through isn't my strong suit, so you have to tell me if this is way too messed up. But, what if I wanted Carlisle to make a move on her?" He made a face. "Oh, man. That _is_ messed up, huh?"

"I don't think so."

"Come on. Sons aren't supposed to be thinking about who their moms hook up with."

"Kind of a maturity thing, isn't it? I mean, yeah, probably it's weird if you're thinking about your mom having sex with anyone, let alone Carlisle." Bella scrunched up her nose. "Just don't do that. You're just a son who wants to see his mom happy."

"And I know Carlisle. Not like, super well, but he's a really nice guy. I think."

"He is." Bella grinned. "I really don't think it's crazy. I've been thinking about that since yesterday. They were cute together, right?"

Emmett scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Right, because when has Carlisle ever helped anyone cruise the aisles."

"Yeah. Exactly."

"And you should have heard Mom last night. She kept asking about Carlisle. You know, curiosity questions. She said it was because you're the only one I ever talk about. " He straightened up, a strange look coming over his face. "Coz you're my boss, you know. You're the one I really work with."

"Yeah, of course. So you think your mom's interested?" She'd looked it, but Bella didn't know her well enough to gauge it.

"Nice guy. Got his own store. Well, technically. And good-looking?"

Bella raised an eyebrow. "You think Carlisle's good-looking, huh," she teased.

"Hey. I'm objective. Besides, pay attention. The point is, Mom's the one who thinks he's got it going on."

Bella leaned in, her tone conspiratorial. "But they need a push."

Emmett tilted his head so it was almost touching hers. "And we need a plan."

* * *

 **A/N: Of course, you know what the problem is, right? The problem is...if Emmett and Bella need a plan to get Carlisle and Esme together, that means I need a plan. Ah, crap.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello, my doves. Let's see what our sweeties are up to, shall we?**

* * *

"No!" Bella threw her head back, she was laughing so hard. "It can't be anything from a movie."

"Why not?" Emmett couldn't help but grin. He didn't even care what they were talking about; not really. He just liked to see her smile like that. She had a great laugh. The sound of it made him happy. "I mean, we're obviously shit at coming up with our own plan. Why not steal one?"

She raised her head from the back of the loveseat in the small break room, still grinning. "Have you ever actually seen those movies? It never works out. It all goes to hell."

"But it all works out in the end." He went over and dropped into the seat next to her.

She paused, her laughter dying, but her smile still quirked. Emmett was suddenly very aware of why it was called a loveseat. It was only big enough for two. Two people who liked each other, and Emmett… Well, he was aware he was kind of a big guy. Broad.

They were close. He could feel the heat of her body so near his, and that did things to him. Her face was close too. Her lips, her pretty smile, were kissably close. A wave of vertigo washed over him, and he tilted his head just a fraction of an inch. He heard her breath catch, and froze in surprise when her eyes darted down to his lips.

Ah, hell. She looked like a woman who wanted to be kissed. Or was it that he wanted to kiss her? No, scratch that. He knew he wanted to kiss her. For a second, he thought he was going to.

Thinking things through didn't come naturally to Emmett. He wasn't the type of guy who held back, too afraid to make a fool of himself. He took his pleasures where he could get them, and kissing Bella? Well, that would please him. Maybe he could figure out this hum, this vibration just under his skin. It was distracting.

And, yeah, he just wanted to.

Her eyes flicked up to his, and that buzz got louder. He balled his hands into fists as he crossed his arms over his chest. Oh, hell. Her eyes were dark and—

Bella looked forward, untucking her hair from behind her ear so it fell across her face. She cleared her throat. "It doesn't have to be nefarious."

Emmett blinked. His brain hadn't snapped back on yet. "What?"

"The plan. It probably shouldn't be so complicated."

"Oh, yeah."

Bella turned her head to look at him. This time, she looked amused. "You're tired. It's getting late, and don't you have school in the morning?"

"School," Emmett said scathingly. The word was enough to throw cold water over him. Right. He was a school kid in Bella's eyes, even if she was only five years older than he was.

And, she was his boss. They were friends by now. They genuinely enjoyed each other, but she was his boss, and he couldn't forget that.

"It's not that late anyway. But you know what we _should_ do?" Emmett grinned. "We should feed me. I'm starving to death."

She snorted. "Oh, yeah. I can see you just wasting away as we speak. Just withering to nothing." Her eyes traveled the length of his body.

Emmett shifted, trying not to think about things he shouldn't be thinking about. Why the hell had he brought up food anyway? There were too many jokes he wanted to make about what he could be eating. "Want to go get some dinner? Out, I mean." That was fine. He could go out to dinner with a friend. He and Jasper did it all the time.

Bella crinkled her nose. "I shouldn't. I have paperwork to finish."

"Oh, that's such bullshit, Bella. You always finish your stuff a week in advance at least. Carlisle told me all your books are pristine. And besides, it's after hours. Work is over."

"There's always work to do."

"You know what they say about all work and no play."

She huffed and looked away. "When have I ever given you the impression I'm an exciting person?"

He grabbed her arm and brought it toward him. "If you won't feed me, I'll have to take matters into my own hand," he said, lifting it to his mouth.

Bella smacked his shoulder with her free hand, laughing. "Hey. What the heck. If you're going to go zombie on me, I'll have to defend myself. Let go."

"Zombies eat brains, Bella. You don't have to worry."

Her eyes went wide. She yanked her arm free. "I see how you are. Calling me brainless."

He grabbed her arm again. "I'm just saying, I'm not trying to eat your brain. Therefore, I'm not a zombie." He lifted her arm to his mouth again and gummed her wrist.

She squeaked, writhing now, though he held her arm fast. "You're just a cannibal. Stop gnawing on me. We'll go get some food. Christ on crutches."

Emmett set her arm down with a triumphant smile. "Good, because you don't have nearly enough meat to feed my appetite."

At that, she covered her mouth, smothering another one of those rare and awesome giggles. Emmett replayed the words, realizing only then how they sounded. "Wait. No. Food. Food. I'm talking about food."

Bella nodded sagely. "Sure you are. Don't worry. I don't judge." She stood up. "Come on. Let's find something that'll satisfy your craving for meat."

 _ **~0~**_

"You think you're so funny." Emmett shook his head.

"Looks aren't everything." Bella patted his arm. "I just wanted you to be comfortable."

She's taken them to a place called Dog Haus which specialized in gourmet wieners, of course. It was hilarious, but it was also a potential embarrassment waiting to happen. Christ, was he really going to have to sit across from Bella while she consumed a phallic object?

Well, hell. Maybe it would be just the thing he needed. These were the kind of hot dogs made to be eaten with a fork and knife. That ought to put the wrong images in his head.

"Sorry," Bella said. It occurred to him that she looked uncertain. Her cheeks were pink. "That was probably an inappropriate thing to say. This was a dumb idea. I'm really sorry. I was just teasing."

"Whoa. Wait. What?" He reached out, automatically brushing her arm with his fingertips as she stepped backward, away from him. "What are you talking about?"

"I keep making non-work appropriate jokes with you."

Emmett looked around. "Neither of us work here."

"I just don't want you to be uncomfortable."

He grinned. "You don't have to worry about offending me." He tapped his forehead. "This right here is full of nothing but double entendres, action movies, and sports trivia."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, sure. You're a walking stereotype." Her expression softened. "I just don't want you to think you have to take it from me."

Emmett had to press his tongue against the roof of his mouth. She just wasn't going to help any. "I'm not too bad at standing up for myself. I mean, don't get me wrong. You're all kinds of intimidating, boss, but I think I can take you."

Apparently, he wasn't going to help himself either.

Bella smirked. "You wish."

He did, but that was beside the point. Or right on top of the point. Whatever.

"Come on. Let's order."

He got an Old Town Dog. A smoked bacon wrapped dog, caramelized onions, pickled jalapeños, chipotle aioli, and cotija cheese. Bella opted for a bratwurst called Another Night in Bangkok—because again, she hated him. It was a spicy thai currywurst, thai peanut sauce, haus slaw, and crushed peanuts. They split an order of chili cheese tots.

"This would be a horrible place to take a date," Bella said, tilting her head back to pop a tater tot in her mouth.

"Really big wieners smothered in...stuff? How do you go wrong with that? It'd be an awesome date."

"Maybe for you. Not everyone's date would be impressed watching them choke down a weiner."

Caught off guard, Emmett choked on his soda. He coughed and sputtered around a somewhat maniacal laugh. When he looked up, she was laughing too, her cheeks pink and her eyes sparkling.

It was good to see her like this—relaxed and joking. Not that she was uptight. Sad, sometimes. Too serious, sometimes. Maybe it was just seeing her out here in the real world, away from the shop, that was so different. He liked it. He wanted to see it again.

"Hey, so. I have an idea," he said when he'd wiped the remnants of his soda. "About Mom and Carlisle, I mean."

"Do tell."

"I think we've been over-thinking this. Well…" He winked. "That's the problem. Thinking is not my forte, and, as we've already talked about before, you're a horrible liar."

"I could lie about this. I could lie for Carlisle." She furrowed her brow. "Everyone can lie. You're exaggerating." She straightened up and pointed a fork at him. "I'm bringing a pack of cards to work tomorrow. We're going to play poker, and I'm going to bluff the hell out of you."

"Big words, Swan. We going to play for real money?"

"Sure. Let's go nuts."

"Excellent. I'll have extra money so I can get really drunk on my birthday. After work, anyway."

She looked confused. Then her eyes went wide. "It's your birthday in a week and a half." She gasped, her eyes going wider. "And I scheduled you to work. Oh, Emmett. Why didn't you remind me?"

"It's not a big deal, boss." He shrugged. "You know I need the hours. Anyway, it's on a Thursday."

"No one should have to work on their birthday."

Emmett scoffed. "I've worked every one of my birthdays since I was fifteen. I think Mom got her birthday off once when I was a kid."

Bella ducked her head. "You're right. It was kind of a spoiled thing to say. They always insist. The Cullens, I mean."

Whoops. "Fuck, remember how we talked about how I should put my talent for sticking my foot in my mouth on my resume?"

The corner of her mouth turned up, and she looked at him from under her eyelashes. He smiled back at her, hopefully reassuring. "It's really not a big deal. To work on my birthday, I mean. It's not like I have anyone to hang with that day even if I did have it off. Mom's working. Ally is in school. Jazz is working."

"What about your friends? You have friends. I know that."

Hadn't he already mentioned Jazz? Emmett shrugged. "Sure, but we already established we're friends, right?"

Bella's lips quirked again. "Right."

"So, I am spending the day with a friend. And I get cupcakes. Now who's spoiled, huh?"

"All right, all right. It still sucks, though."

He flashed her a grin that was all teeth. "If you feel so bad about it, you could always buy me dessert today."

"I see where your sister gets her habit of extorting your boss." Bella shook her head. "You were saying about Carlisle and Esme."

"Oh, right. As far as movies go, I think we should go more Beauty and the Beast."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure your mom would freak out if Carlisle kept her prisoner in his house."

"What? Ew. No. Not like that. I mean the part where there's a whole castle-full of people who want them to get together, and they don't really scheme. They just encourage both parties, right? Beauty and Beast fall for each other because they spend time together. And really, it makes sense for Mom and Carlisle to spend some time together because maybe we're both off our rockers, thinking they're good together."

"So what are you thinking?"

"Maybe we can arrange for them to be in the same place at the same time. Like...outside the shop."

"How would we do that? Like, if Carlisle were to show up at one of Alice's activities?" Bella scrunched her nose.

"That would be kind of weird. I mean, I don't know. The grocery store? Something like that."

"Hmm." Bella pursed her lips, thinking. Then, she brightened. "There's a street fair going on this weekend. I could get Carlisle to take me." She smiled fondly. "He's always telling me I don't get out enough. I bet he'd be happy to go with me. He thinks I don't interact with enough people."

"Ally and Mom like stuff like that too."

Bella nodded. "So we could _accidentally_ stumble across one another."

"Damn, we're good," Emmett said, smugly satisfied.

"If we do say so ourselves." Bella laughed. "Do you think this counts as a business meeting?"

"Are you trying to put it on the expense account, and charge Carlisle some kind of setup fee?" He shook his head. "Only two people who work with cupcakes would have a business meeting over weiners."

"About trying to get our mutual boss together with your mother."

"We're going to have to figure out how to spin that for my resume."

Bella put on an expression of fauc hurt. "Are you trying to ditch me?"

"Naw. You're stuck with me for now, boss."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm out celebrating my mom's birthday. Let's see if I can sweet talk Mina into posting for me. Mina! You're the most beautiful person in the whole wide world!**

 **Mina: You owe me x2**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello, my duckies! Let's get it ooooooon.**

* * *

Edward had liked to tease Bella that if he wasn't so secure in how good-looking he was he'd be jealous of how well she and Carlisle got along. Bella had teased him right back that his brother was a stud in his own right. It was worth the horrified face Edward made.

The thing was, Bella, like Carlisle, was a bookworm. It was the thing they had most in common besides loving Edward. And in reality, Edward loved that she and Carlisle got along. He thought it was funny that they had, in his reckoning, the same horrible taste in books, and that they would dissect them to itty, bitty pieces.

But it had been a long time since Bella had read a book. It had been a long time since she and Carlisle had had a really good conversation. Bella didn't really know how that happened. She lost her words for a while after Edward died. Still, it had been Carlisle who'd reached through the darkness, through his own tremendous pain, to offer her a hand to hold.

That was why she'd understood when Emmett said he wanted to do this thing for his mother. He and Esme had been through a different kind of hell together. He saw them as partners, but a child could never replace a partner for his parent. So, there was this deficit, this need in him, like the one in Bella, to make _something_ go right in his mother's life.

And, yeah. Maybe it was a half-cocked, asinine thing for them to have decided Carlisle and Esme could fill a void in each other's lives. Both of them should know better than to think they had any kind of control over life. And just because Carlisle and Esme were both two genuinely sweet, lonely people didn't mean they belonged together. Still, there was no harm trying, right?

Bella was brought out of her ruminations by a soft hip-bump. She looked up to find Carlisle smiling down at her. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Spaced out for a minute." Bella was irrationally nervous. She told herself she was being ridiculous. It wasn't as though this was some nefarious thing.

"Are you nervous about something?" Carlisle asked, his brow furrowed.

Well, fuck. Maybe she was a piss-poor liar after all. But she maintained that she could still get through a hand of poker. After all, it wasn't like she was messing with anyone's life—even if in a positive, well-meaning way—when she doubled down on a crappy hand of cards.

"Bella?"

"Sorry. What were you saying?"

Carlisle gave her a strange look. "I just asked if you wanted to go somewhere first."

"Uh. Yeah. Let's go look at the pies." That had been Emmett's idea. He'd said his family would get suspicious if he didn't go straight for the pies. She'd called him a cupcake traitor.

He quirked an eyebrow. "You don't even like pie."

That was true, and she hadn't thought about it. "I liked that Cool-Whip, Jell-O pudding pie your mother made that one time."

"The one with the Oreo cookie crust?"

"Yeah."

"Bella, that's not a real pie."

She made a face at him. "Don't be a pie snob."

He laughed. "I'm not. I liked that pie too. What I'm trying to say is that at this kind of fair, all the pies will be homemade. No Oreo crust."

"Bleh. I don't like the regular pastry crust. That's why I don't like pie."

"I know you don't like pie." Now Carlisle looked like he was trying not to laugh at her, his amusement only barely reined in. "That's why I was curious why you were suddenly interested in looking at them."

"Well…" Fucking Emmett "The Bottomless Pit" McCarty. "Because."

There was a beat while Bella's cheeks flamed. "Fair enough," Carlisle said and headed in that direction. Behind him, Bella huffed. As Emmett would say, she had no chill.

Luckily, Emmett and his family weren't quite to the pies yet. That would have looked way too unnatural after Bella's fumbling. So, she and Carlisle got into a friendly debate with the baker about what the hell rhubarb was and whether or not it had any business being in a pie.

"Pecans don't sound like they belong in a pie," the baker countered, her arms crossed. "But we like pecan pie."

"You like pecan pie. And nuts are used in the desserts all the time. I love a good walnut brownie." Bella ticked off on her finger. "Then, there's peanut butter. The peanut butter cupcake book I keep stocked at my supply store always sells." She poked at the edge of a pie tin, making a face. "I still don't know what a rhubarb is. I mean, if I've never bitten into one raw, or even seen it on a shelf, why would anyone stick it in a pie?"

"Whoa. What's going on here?"

Bella turned at the sound of Emmett's voice. Because she'd been so caught up in conversation, her cry of, "Emmett," was actually convincing.

"Hello, Emmett. Bella's picking a fight over pies." Carlisle's features noticeably softened when he looked to Emmett's right. "Hello, Esme." He reached out and ruffled Alice's hair. "Alice." He looked to the figure at Emmett's left. "And you are…"

"This is Jasper. Jazz, this is Carlisle. His family owns the place where I work. Mom, you remember Carlisle and Bella."

Esme arched an eyebrow, but her glance lingered on Carlisle. "It was just two weeks ago. I'm not senile yet."

Ignoring his mother, Emmett turned back to Bella. "What the heck kind of fight do you pick over pie?"

"She's protesting the existence of rhubarb pies," the baker said, sounding unamused.

Emmett shuddered. "I can't decide what's grosser. Something rhubarb or mince meat. They both sound disgusting."

The woman plastered on a smile and picked up two pies—one of the mince meat. "Sample?" she said sweetly.

Bella snickered. "Go ahead, Emmett. Try the mincemeat." Even saying it made her want to gag a bit.

Emmett looked at the baker. "Isn't mincemeat like...a sweet meat pie?"

"Sweet meat means balls," Alice said, completely straight-faced.

They all stared. The baker snickered. "Technically, she's right. But there's no sweet meat in my mince meat."

"And meat shouldn't be sweet to begin with," Emmett said.

"Oo-kay." Carlisle put one hand on Emmett's shoulder, the other on Bella's, and turned them around. "I've seen this slapstick comedy. Pies end up in faces, and we're not invited back to the fair. Come along, hooligans."

Emmett went, but he twisted around, staring back at the pies. "But...she...had banana cream." He harrumphed when they were a distance away and swung around to look at Bella with mock anger. "You totally deprived me of my pie."

"Uh oh. That's never a good sign." Esme made a wide-eyed face of impending doom.

"And, that's my cue." Jasper shook his head. "I go in search of coffee. Good luck dealing with the beast." He slapped Emmett on the back with a healthy thwack and sauntered off. Bella watched him a beat and flicked her eyes to Emmett, but he didn't appear to be bothered by being ditched.

Emmett rolled his eyes and looked at Bella. "Don't listen to any of them. I got hangry like, once, and it wasn't my fault."

His mother patted his back consolingly. "Yes, because a full-grown adult isn't responsible for his actions."

"You promised me pie that time, and I was hangry. You know. Hangry. Snickers made a whole series of commercials about it." He flashed a huge grin at her and Carlisle. "So. Fancy meeting you here."

Bella laughed. The sound was a little too high-pitched, and Emmett gave her a look. She coughed into her hand. "Happy coincidence," she muttered.

"I didn't mean to take over," Carlisle said. "I shouldn't have imposed on your day."

Esme smiled at him. "Emmett will survive if he doesn't get pie."

"Uh, Emmett is a grown-up with money of his own, and if he wants pie, he'll just go back and get a slice," Emmett said.

Alice made a face at her big brother. "Why are you talking like that?"

"Shut it, shortstuff." He looked at Bella. "So you picked a fight with the pie lady, eh?"

"I still don't understand why you wanted to look at the pies in the first place," Carlisle said. He looked to Emmett. "Bella is vehemently anti-pie."

Emmett turned wide eyes on her. He grasped his heart. "Oh no." He grasped at his heart, taking a few stumbling steps. "Say it ain't so. Ah, crap. I have to quit. My boss is evil."

"Evil, huh?"

"Well, at the very least un-American. You know. As American as baseball and apple pie?"

"I don't like baseball either."

Emmett started to make a face, but then he shrugged. "I don't like baseball either. It's boring."

"I like baseball," Alice offered.

"How about the carnival games?" Carlisle asked, nodding his head a little ways away where one strip was decked out in games. "There's a catching game. There always is."

Alice brightened. "I like the goldfish game."

"Oh, Alice." Esme said with a sigh. "How about a different game this time?"

Emmett bent to whisper in Bella's ear. This breath on her neck sent a delicious tingle down her spine, and she pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth, trying to ignore it. "She always gets the fish," he whispered. "And then cries when it dies. And it always dies."

"I'm not going to kill this one," Alice insisted, having heard Emmett despite his attempt to be quiet . "Practice makes perfect, and I've had practice." She made a face. "And even if it dies, I won't cry. I'm not a baby this time."

"Aren't those obnoxiously big snakes a thousand times cooler than a fish though?" Carlisle pointed at the prizes in question—stuffed, coiled snakes that were about as big as Alice was. "I always wanted one of those when I was a kid, but my parents hated these kinds of games. They were upset when I took Edward and we brought home a teddy bear that he could sit in."

"Who's Edward?" Esme asked.

All things considered, it was good that she asked. Carlisle didn't get a lot of opportunities to talk about his brother, and Esme, it was clear, was a good listener. Still, though enough time had passed that the pain of Edward's loss didn't threaten to knock her over, it still ached. She found herself hunching inward a bit, going quiet as Esme asked soft questions.

Emmett touched her arm making her jump. "Hey," he said, again near her ear though this time far too softly for anyone to hear. He studied her face a few seconds, his fingertips playing along hers in a touch she found so comforting. He nodded and looked to his mother. "Hey, Mom. I'm going to let you and Carlisle handle the boring catch game."

Esme snorted. "Right. What you mean is you couldn't get the ball in that little hole if your life depended on it." She looked at Carlisle. "He'll tell you he hates baseball because it's boring. Really, he hates it because he sucks at it."

"Okay. First of all, I'm going to have to ask you never to say the words 'ball in that little hole' again. Ever, ever, ever." Emmett shuddered. "Second of all, I didn't suck at baseball. The coach sucked. He was biased against me. Kept pitting me against players who made me look bad."

"When he says biased, he means honest." Esme rubbed her son's back consolingly.

Alice giggled and Carlisle hid a laugh. Bella smirked, straightening up a bit. She hadn't realized her shoulders were so hunched. Emmett shook his head at Bella. "My mother's a chronic liar. It's very sad. I've got to get around to looking into homes for the not-so-elderly."

"I could have left you at the hospital in a basket," Esme countered.

"See? Chronic liar. No one who looked at baby me could have walked away."

Esme's expression turned tender and she patted his cheek. "Even a broken clock is right twice a day."

"Love you too, Ma."

"Go play, little boy."

Emmett stood up to his full height. "Little. Sure." He touched a hand to Bella's elbow, and they left.

"That worked out better than expected," Bella said, glancing over her shoulder as Esme and Carlisle turned toward each other.

"What did?" Emmett asked. He followed her gaze. "Oh. Right. Operation Setup."

Bella raised a brow, realizing belatedly that he hadn't planned that move. He'd done it purely because he knew she was struggling. Warmth spread through her. Emmett was such a genuinely sweet guy.

He yawned and stretched, arching his arms up and doing that thing guys did where they made that booming groan. She jumped at the sound and laughed. Her eyes landed on the thin strip of skin above the line of his pants.

Well, hell. Obviously, he was ripped. She'd known that, but…

Well. Hell.

"So, are you telling me you aren't good at sports?" Bella asked quickly.

"Boss lady, didn't you get in trouble stereotyping me the day we met?" Emmett tilted his head, fixing her with a look.

Bella flushed. "Ah, crap."

Emmett laughed. He grabbed her by the arm before she could continue walking on. "I'm bad at baseball. I'm good at other sports. Football, speaking of stereotypes." He pulled them to a stop in front of a booth. "But I'm really good at basketball."

They were in front of the hoop shoot. Emmett pointed upward at the rack of prizes. "So, what are we shooting for?"

"Go big or go home." Bella pointed at the obnoxiously big monkeys that hung from the ceiling of the booth.

Emmett whistled. "You want to put me in the poor house, Swan?" He put down a ten dollar bill. "These things are rigged, you know."

Bella peeled a ten out of her own wallet and slapped it down over his. Their fingers brushed. "Team effort."

He grinned. "You think you can keep up with me, bookworm?"

"Oh, now who's stereotyping?" She gestured at the attendant. "Bring it on." Bella hated organized sports, that was for sure. But shooting hoops was far from an organized sport. Her father had a basketball hoop over the garage to let off steam when his job got too stressful. Bella had picked up the habit.

She picked up the ball the attendant put down and set it sailing through the air. It gave a satisfying swish as it went through. She turned to Emmett with what she knew was a smug smirk. "Guess that one wasn't rigged."

Emmett's face was lit up like a kid on Christmas. "Nice." He picked up his own ball and shot. It bounced off. Emmett groaned. "Okay. I found the rigged one."

"Suuure."

They shot, razzing each other. When Bella got three in a row to Emmett's two, he tickled her sides right before she took the fourth shot. The attendant had to duck when her rogue ball came at him.

Bella whirled and smacked at Emmett's chest. "You're a cheating cheater who cheats, Emmett McCarty."

"I don't know what you're talking about." His hands were at her waist, stilling her. "You can't win them all, boss. It's okay. No one is good at this game."

" _You're_ not good at this game." Her hands rested on his arms. "You're getting beaten by a girl, do you know that?"

"Pfft." He lingered. Or maybe Bella imagined it. Then, he stepped back. "No shame in that. Go ahead, All Star."

They kept going. There was no way the monkey, as big as it was, was worth as much money as they put down. But when they handed over their smaller prizes to trade up and the attendant pulled a huge ass monkey down, Bella jumped up and down like she'd won the lottery.

"Hanging monkey. Yeah." Bella jumped up, locking her arms around Emmett's neck, hanging off him like the monkey was meant to do. She could feel the vibration of his laughter and feel the warmth of his skin as his hands came up over hers.

Giggling, she turned her head and almost, almost kissed his neck. Then she froze, realizing what she was doing.

This was so inappropriate.

She slid down off his back, taking a step away from him.

"Good job, kids," the attendant said, proffering the giant monkey again. He looked bemused. "You guys are cute, you know that?"

Bella blushed, if anything, harder. Emmett chuckled—a nervous kind of sound. "Thanks," he said simply.

The weather today was chilly, but the air around them had grown hot; heavy in that awkward way. Bella felt embarrassment crawl over her skin, and she rubbed the back of her neck. She was desperate for Emmett to make some comment. Something Emmett-esque, laughing it off like he always did. He was quiet as they walked a few paces away.

"So…" he began, and Bella's heart picked up speed.

Before he could say another word, though, a flash of dark hair came at them and threw itself around his waist. "Emmy, Emmy, Emmy. Guess what!" Alice, practically vibrating in place, stared up at her big brother. "Mom said it was sad that Carlisle's parents had never let him play these games. He tried." She shook her head sadly. "But he sucks."

"Alice," Esme admonished, catching up.

"I resemble that remark," Carlisle said. Even though she was still distracted by her embarrassment, Bella still noticed how close Carlisle and Esme were standing together.

"Sorry. It's just...you're not good at it. You missed every time."

" _Alice_!"

"What? I'm not being mean. That's just the truth." Alice shook her head and looked back to her brother. "So, Mom said she would try and guess what? She's _so_ good. Look what she won Carlisle." She pointed. Carlisle obligingly showed off the adequately large unicorn that had been tucked under one arm.

"Apparently, it's so fluffy I'm going to die?" he said, sounding confused but amused.

"Don't worry, man." Emmett clapped his shoulder consolingly. "I didn't miss _that_ much but I came in second place in my game too." He unhooked the huge monkey from around his neck and dropped it on his little sister who squealed. "There ya go."

Warmth went through Bella again. An unmistakable warmth. She was charmed. She rubbed the back of her neck again. "Hey, uh… I'm going to meet up with you guys in a minute, okay?"

They all turned toward her. "Where are you going?" Emmett asked.

"Uh…I'll just...be right back." She turned and hurried away, feeling foolish and out of sorts.

She didn't really know where she was going or what she was thinking. Too much. There was too much zinging around her head. Some of it confusing. All of it kind of infuriating, and—

Bella stopped short. She stared, sure she had to be seeing things.

No. That was Jasper. Emmett's Jasper who had been MIA all damn day. Emmett's Jasper sitting at a table outside the coffee shop, an adoring grin on his face as a sandy-haired man reached out to cup his cheek. Emmett's Jasper who cupped his hand around the back of the other man's neck and pulled him in.

Bella saw red. Oh, no. Oh, _hell_ no. Emmett was way too good for something like this to happen to him. He was a good, sweet man, and if this jackass didn't see that.

Oh. Hell. No.

She stormed across the grass and tapped on Jasper's shoulder. Hard.

"Ow. What the hell?" Jasper broke his lip-lock to glare up at her.

"What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?"

* * *

 **A/N: A tee hee hee.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Happy Sunday. I'm going to attempt not to get out of my pajamas today! So. We got some truth to spill.**

* * *

Emmett prided himself in not being one of those oblivious assholes. It wasn't as though emotions were particularly difficult to figure out. It was easy to see when he'd pushed his teasing with Alice too far and she was getting upset. He knew how to read it when his mother felt inadequate; when she came home dead on her feet from working too hard and too long but still insisted she had to cook for them or do whatever she could. He knew he had to sit back and let her.

It wasn't exactly difficult to figure out that Bella had been spooked by something. Competitive Bella was a sight to see, full of zingers and cocksure smirks. When she'd clung to his neck, her hot breath on his skin, well...his dick had had a thing or two to say about that, was all.

Maybe Bella had sensed it somehow. But hell, she had to know he didn't have control over those things. A guy had absolute control over what he did with his dick, but no control over what his dick did.

The woman confused him; that was all. But anyway he sliced it, she seemed upset and that bothered him. He didn't want to see her upset for any reason, but if he'd caused it somehow… He may not be oblivious, but he wasn't immune to saying or doing something stupid. In fact, some days he was pretty good at it.

Emmett waited long enough for Alice to get through telling him about the newest craft she was attempting and how she wanted to go by the crafts next before he decided Bella had been gone long enough. "Hey, Mom," he said, looking easily over Alice's head.

His mother turned away from Carlisle to arch an eyebrow at him. Emmett allowed himself a brief, internal fist pump before he got to business. "You okay here? There's something I want to check out. I can meet you in the craft section."

"I got this, kiddo," his mother said.

He bet she did.

Emmett headed off in the vague direction Bella had disappeared in, scanning the booths and aisles as he did. He considered texting her, but couldn't figure out what to say. It wasn't like it was his business that she went anywhere. It was Carlisle she'd ditched, not him.

He found Jasper before he found Bella. He was sitting at a table in front of the coffee shop across from another man. Emmett headed his way to ask him if he'd happened to see Bella. It took a second for him to realize Jasper and the other man were arguing. He was about to make an about-face when he heard his name.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you. Emmett is my roommate. That's it."

"Save it, sweetheart. I'm done listening to you," the man sitting across from Jasper sneered. "You just got called out by your boyfriend's fag hag. Be a man about it, and admit you're a fucking lying dog. I can't believe I let you sweet talk me."

"Peter, come on." Jasper tried to reach for the man as he stood.

"Don't touch me. Fuck off." With an impressively graceful pivot, Peter stormed away. Jasper let out a groan and collapsed back into his seat, his elbows on the table, and his fingers tangling in his hair.

Emmett blinked. What the ever loving fuck was this about and what did it have to do with him? After a minute of trying to piece it together for himself, he walked over and dropped into the seat across from Jasper. His friend's head snapped up, but when he saw Emmett there, he slumped again. "Fuck, where were you a minute ago?" Jasper grumbled.

"What the hell happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened. After I've been working for weeks to get Peter 'Once Bitten Twice Shy' Damon to trust me, your damn boss came over here and accused me of cheating. On you."

Emmett balked. He repeated the words several times in his head but they didn't compute. "Wait… What?"

"Your honor was quite vehemently defended. Christ on a cracker, she was railing at me about what a great guy you are and how I've got to be the world's biggest asshole," Jasper said wryly. Luckily, he knew Emmett's 'I'm not getting it face.' He huffed. "She thinks you're gay, jackass. Specifically, she thinks you're gay with me."

"The fuck?" was all Emmett's brain could come up with after a few moments of gawking.

At that, Jasper looked at least a little bit amused. "Maybe you look too at home in that frilly, pink apron."

Emmett narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "Do you know any gay men who own a frilly, pink apron?"

"No." Jasper actually cracked a smile. "I do know one who owns a Harley Quinn apron. It's quite fabulous."

"Fucking stereotypes." Emmett wiped a hand over his eyes, repeating the words in his head. Bella thought he was gay? Why? How? What the actual fuck?

It wasn't that he had a problem with being gay. Like he gave a fuck if anyone thought he liked men. That didn't matter. What mattered was that Bella thought he liked men because she wasn't a man.

Well, fuck. Okay. There was that thought running around his head. And an itch under his skin like he needed to set her straight—literally—right the heck now. He didn't really know why it was so important. There were still all kinds of reasons why her thinking he liked guys wasn't any of her business, but, well… Yeah. He kind of wanted to make it her business.

Emmett stood up. "I gotta go."

Jasper grabbed his arm. "Uh, yeah. You gotta go with me after Peter and inform him I'm not cheating on your big, dumb ass."

Any other day, Emmett would have his best friend's back in a heartbeat, but he _needed_ to act. It wasn't even a question. It needed to be done yesterday, and it was driving him to distraction. "That's not a good idea," he said to Jasper. "He'll take one look at this"—he gestured up and down his body—"and think you're lying anyway. Who wouldn't want a piece of this?"

"Emmett—"

"Dude. Seriously, give him a bit to calm down. I promise I'll be right back." He turned tail and hurried off, ignoring Jasper's curse.

It wasn't too hard to find his family. Alice was beside herself. She'd found a potting station. Apparently, there was a whole subgroup of people who did themed potted plants. There was an Alice in Wonderland set that Alice was, of course, ecstatic over.

Somehow, Emmett managed to tamp down his impatience to placate his sister. "Buy the toys. I'll figure out the rest," he told his mother.

That was when he noticed that Carlisle was staring at his phone with a furrowed brow. "What's up?" Emmett asked. He had the weirdest feeling it had something to do with Bella.

Sure enough, Carlisle shook his head. "Bella begged off again. She said something came up with some kind of delivery at work, and she took an Uber to deal with it. She's being vague." With another grimace, he returned his phone to his pocket. "It's been a long time since she's done something other than work on a Sunday." The shop was closed on Sundays. "It's progress, I suppose."

"Why don't I go over?" Emmett asked, probably too quickly. "I can offer to help her. If there really is something going on, we'll get it done twice as fast. If there isn't, maybe I can get her to come back."

His mother gave him a look. "Maybe she needs to be left alone for whatever reason."

"Maybe." Emmett squirmed a bit. He really didn't think that was it, but he couldn't explain that to his mother. "Just to make sure everything is okay. I won't push her."

Carlisle made a face. "I should go."

"No. No, it's cool." Emmett took a step closer to the man so he could talk in a voice low enough for Alice not to hear. "You'd be doing _me_ a favor, man. I don't have the patience for this potted plant stuff today. I'd owe you one."

Carlisle studied him a beat, but nodded. "Check on Bella, and we'll call it even."

Real smooth, Emmett thought. Carlisle wasn't exactly crying about spending more time with his mother. Emmett had no doubt his concern for Bella was genuine, but the situation wasn't exactly an emergency.

This was what Emmett kept telling himself. No reason to drive fast. It was just plain dumb that it felt so urgent to him. It was like the pieces were all there, but he couldn't figure out the big picture. As he parked in the back, memories of the last hour or so zinged around his head. Bella grinning at him. How he couldn't stop himself from tickling her. Her playful smacks. The way her hand kept brushing his. And she was the one to jump on his back.

There was something about what she did to Jazz, too. That she'd gone on a tear about Jasper being an idiot because Emmett was such a great guy.

He let out a huff of air before he pushed the door open.

As Carlisle had suspected, there were no deliveries to deal with. Instead, he found Bella in the front of the store, leaning with her back against the front counter. She'd been staring off into space, but when he entered, her head turned to him and her eyes went wide. "Emmett."

Just like that, the air around them changed. He was just so damn aware of her. Aware of the shape of her—curves, a great ass, and legs for days. She'd let her hair out of its ponytail, and it fell off one shoulder, all wavy and maybe just a little messy. Even though they were across the room from each other, he had to press his hands to his sides firmly. He had this urge to touch.

He didn't bother to keep up the pretense that she'd come to deal with a delivery. "I saw Jasper earlier."

Her features darkened, and she looked down, pushing off the counter as she did. "Did he—"

"He's not my boyfriend," Emmett blurted.

She looked up, obviously confused. "What?"

"Bella...why the heck would you think I was gay?"

Her eyes went wide. "What?"

"I'm not gay."

She opened her mouth. Shut it. Opened it again. She ran a hand through her hair and paced a few steps forward. "Oh, shit." She gasped. "Shit. Your poor friend." She furrowed her brow. "But you said you were roommates."

"Yeah. We're roommates. We share a room. Not a bed."

"I thought… You know. I thought you were _roommates_ _._ "

"It wasn't a euphemism."

Bella had begun to pace a few steps forward and back. "Yeah, I'm getting that. Oh, man. I totally messed up his game. Shit."

"I don't get why that would make you think I was gay, though?" And honestly, Emmett didn't know why that point was so important. Maybe it was just easier to stick to this subject than others that were zinging around his head, especially seeing as his feet kept moving him closer to her.

"I guess… Hell, I don't even remember. It was something you said during the interview. Something about how you wouldn't know what played well with girls."

Emmett had to think about that one. "I don't go out with many girls because I have work, school, and Alice. Not because I like guys."

"Yeah. Like I said, I'm getting that now." She paused in her pacing and looked to him. "Damn, you know what they say about assumption. I feel like a tool right now. I'm sorry."

Emmett crossed his arms over his chest.

"Don't be angry at me," she pleaded, her look strangely vulnerable.

"I'm not angry." He needed to get control of his hands before he did something stupid, that was all. "It's just… Look, this is the wrong reaction, okay? Speaking of stereotypes and assumptions. I know it's not the right reaction, but I can't help it. I'm just feeling this powerful desire to prove my manliness right now."

She laughed. It was a small laugh that she cut off quickly. "Sorry," she squeaked. "It's just...look at you." Her eyes raked up and down his form, which really didn't help matters any. "And how does anyone prove their manliness anyway?"

He froze for all of one second before his impulse control snapped. _Fuck it._

Emmett stalked forward. Bella's eyes went wide. She walked backward until her back came up against the counter. Emmett kept coming, and he caged her between his arms, his hands on either side of her on the counter. Her head was tilted up, her eyes dark on him.

His head was loud. Despite his size, he really wasn't one for alpha male bullshit. But she wasn't scared. Stunned, yeah, which made two of them. But not scared. He waited for her to ask him what the fuck he was doing, but she didn't. Her eyes darted down to his lips.

And he was done. He stopped thinking—it wasn't getting him anywhere anyway—and kissed her. It was the kind of kiss that was like being at the top of a long, steep hill on his bike and letting go of the brakes. He was instantly breathless but exhilarated. He cupped one hand at the small of her back, pressing her closer to him at the same time he pinned her against the counter.

She whimpered into his mouth. The good kind of whimper. Her hands came up and her fingers tangled in his hair. Her lips moved with his, fervant and hard.

Hell, her body was just so good and right in his hands, against him. He couldn't get enough. He pressed forward and she tilted back like she was about to lie down on the counter, and that put all sorts of delicious ideas in his head. Then it was him who whimpered into her hot, wet mouth. She hitched one leg up to keep her balance, and he caught it under her knee. Christ, he loved the feel of her.

That was when he had to stop. He had to take a step backward because there was too much he wanted to touch. He wanted to know what it felt like to cup her ass in his hands. He wanted to slip his fingers up under her shirt and feel her skin. And, sure, he needed to breathe too. That was a little more important once he took a step away and couldn't feel the heat of her anymore. He licked his lips, still tasting her.

For a minute they both just breathed, the sounds loud in the quiet shop. He was at a loss for what to do. There'd been other girls. But not like this, not like her, and this...This was complicated. Emmett wasn't the kind of guy who minded messing up. He did. A lot. And learned from his mistakes, but he didn't want to mess this up.

Of course, he was probably messing things up by being quiet and not looking at her. The fact he'd turned to the side as soon as he'd broken that amazing kiss was probably the wrong thing too.

He laughed. He couldn't help it. It was a high-pitched, strangled, giggle of a laugh. He hung his head, rubbing the back of his neck and holding his breath as he tried to get a handle on himself.

"What?" Bella asked. She didn't sound mad.

He looked at her cautiously. She didn't look mad either. She looked… Well, fuck. She looked like sex. Her hair was wild and her cheeks were red and unlike when she'd been competing with him at the street fair, there wasn't anyone around. He looked down again, losing the battle over his laughter.

"What?" she demanded. She stepped toward him and shoved him. It was a playful shove to his shoulder.

He looked up at her and grinned. "Man, I have no fucking idea," he said, choking on the words because he couldn't stop laughing. "You got a playbook, coach, because I'm just not that smooth."

She'd been biting her lip, fighting a smile, but at that, she laughed too. Her hand was still on his shoulder, so when he turned back toward her, it was was as easy as breathing to take her back into his arms. He caught the last of her laughter with his mouth, feeling it vibrate against his lips as he kissed her again. This was a much softer kiss. It wasn't like before, when some part of him had needed to surround her, needed to spend all this energy that buzzed between them.

This was different. Yes, he was attracted to her. He'd always known that, but there was something else to this. There was that enormity he'd never felt before. There was just _more_ _._ He cupped her cheek as he let his tongue feel along hers. She sighed, pushing up onto the balls of her feet. One hand rested still on his shoulder, the other played with the curls at his nape, sending chills down his liked this too—all soft and sweet.

When they had to stop again, he didn't turn away and didn't let her go. She ducked her head, hiding her face at his neck. He could feel how fast her heart beat with his hand splayed as it was over her back.

He still didn't know what the heck he was supposed to do now. Talking? Probably. It wasn't his forte on his best day. Right then, his brain was full of, "Ubba, duh, wha?"

Yeah, he needed a minute.

"We need—" Nope. Try again. "I need to find Jasper."

Bella raised her head. "What?"

Suddenly, Emmett remembered how this had all started. That sounded a little gay without context, proving his point that words weren't his friend right now. He cracked a grin. "No, I mean, we...I have to fix this thing with the guy he likes. If it's the same guy he hasn't shut the hell up about for weeks, he's kind of important."

Bella made a face. "Oh, hell. I should be the one to talk to him. That was all kinds of messed up."

"It's okay. I'll do it."

Despite his words, neither of them moved. Bella had a strange look on her face.

Complicated, right. Probably in ways he couldn't begin to understand how. She needed a minute, and he needed a minute. And probably he needed some advice from Jasper if his friend was still talking to him.

"Can I, um… Tonight?" he asked with perfect and utmost eloquence. He grimaced. "Fuck, that sounded wrong. I mean, we can talk. Tonight. Or whenever. Whatever." He grunted, rolled his eyes, and gave up.

Bella giggled. It was a short, small one, and her look was almost shy as she met his eyes. "Yeah. Come over. Just text me."

"Right."

"Right."

They still didn't move. Not until she pressed up onto her tiptoes and kissed him once more. A small kiss, but a good one. One that reassured him that maybe it wasn't _too_ complicated.

Maybe.

* * *

 **A/N: So.**

 **That happened.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hiya, kiddos! Let's see what these kids are getting up to. Hehehe.**

* * *

Bella was relieved she didn't have her car. Instead, she Uber'ed back to her place. She made the barest minimum small-talk she could, and then spaced out in the backseat, running her fingers over her lips. From the moment he'd looked at her, his normally playful eyes gone dark and serious with want, all coherent thought had left her head. So she didn't try to think. Instead, she replayed the memory of his kisses all the way home.

She couldn't stop smiling. She was thrilled. There were chills running up and down her spine, delicious chills that only made her smile grow wider. She covered her face with her hands. Her cheeks were so hot.

Once she was home, though, the quiet house left her nothing to do but think. She wandered around, restless. She picked things up, put them down again. She wandered to her room, changed the sheets on the bed, and then wondered what the hell she thought was going to happen when Emmett appeared at her door.

She sunk onto the bed, burying her face in her pillow and went quietly to pieces. She was trembling now, and she wasn't sure why. Her eyes stung. She was happy, and she was guilty, and she didn't know what she was supposed to want.

For minutes that turned into a solid hour, she curled into a tight ball, fighting a consuming wave of confusion and grief. She cried into her pillow.

And then, she calmed. When she could breathe again, when the tightness in her chest eased, she sat up and smiled.

Emmett McCarty _liked_ her. It had been so long since anyone had looked at her the way he had in the shop, with eyes dark with intent and desire. It wasn't an unwelcome thing to have him look at her like that.

And, damn. His kiss...

The doorbell rang, and Bella's heart picked up speed. No more time left to think, which may have been a godsend anyway. If she had to think, she'd have to figure out why she was so goddamned giddy. And she was. She practically flew to the door.

Before she opened it, she made herself calm down. She felt all kinds of ridiculous and way too eager. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

And jumped back with a yelp of surprise. Instead of finding Emmett on her doorstep, she'd come face to face with a huge monkey who was hanging there, swaying slightly. She let out a huff of laughter, blinking when she realized it was the same monkey they'd won together earlier. She had no idea how he got it to hang like that, but now, in his other paw was a single sunflower almost as big as her head. She reached out to touch the petals. "Emmett?" she called, wondering where the hell he was.

He popped his head around the corner and flashed a cheeky grin. "I don't know anything about flowers, so obviously, I went for the biggest one I could find." He waggled his eyebrows.

Bella laughed, shaking her head. She offered her hand, and he took it, letting her pull him out into the open. He ducked around the monkey, pulling his hand from hers to wrap it around her waist. Bella pushed up onto the balls of her feet, tilting her head up as he tilted down. She sighed as their lips met, all the frenetic energy that had spiked her blood since she left the shop earlier that day calmed. She rested her hand at his side, curling closer.

He splayed one hand wide across the small of her back and reached up with the other hand. Bella squeaked, breaking the kiss as he settled the monkey's arm, with the hand holding the sunflower, around her neck. He settled the other one around his neck and smiled down at her. "Can I come inside, boss?"

"Oh, I suppose."

They kind of stumbled inside-man, woman, and oversized stuffed monkey. Bella moved the monkey to the floor, careful to keep the sunflower settled daintily on its lap. When she turned around, she yelped, finding Emmett right there. Anything she might have said went right out the window. He was just so big. Standing that close, he surrounded her; engulfed her without even having to touch her.

Her every muscle tensed for only a second before she gave in. Pushing onto the balls of her feet, she wound her arms around his neck and caught his lips when he bent his head to hers. She pressed up against him as they kissed, and he wrapped his arms firmly around her. He stepped and stumbled backward, and then fell back onto the couch, pulling her with him.

Without the pesky need to keep themselves upright, their kisses became more heated. Bella knelt on the couch, facing him, taller than him for once. Her fingers tangled in his hair. His hands wandered her back, stroking up and down.

His kisses then were different than the ones before it. There was a brashness, barely reined in, to the way he kissed her. There was an inelegance to it that was, rather than being off-putting, endearing. He shoved his tongue in her mouth, but corrected, gentling his movements. He squeezed her a little too hard, but gentled when she made a startled noise at the back of her throat. He drew his hands up her body and cupped her face with heartbreaking tenderness.

Then, with a groan, he pulled back. Bella opened her eyes to find his screwed tightly shut. They panted, both breathless, and her head spun.

"We have to…I mean…" Emmett gave a laugh that was closer to maniacal giggle. His eyelashes fluttered open, and his eyes danced as he looked at her. "Sorry." He licked his lips. "We should… You know. Talk."

Bella quirked an eyebrow. "You want to talk?"

He snorted. "No." His eyes followed the path of his fingertips as he stroked along the line of her cheek all the way down to her hip. He laughed, and the low sound sent a shiver through her that coiled, tightening her nipples. His eyes flicked back up to hers, and he grinned. "I'm not good at talking. I like doing." Again, his eyes flicked down over her body and back up again. "And there are a lot of things I want to do right now."

Bella was breathless, excited. She wouldn't have objected, she realized then. If he pulled her close again, kissed her again, she would lie back on the couch and let him consume her.

But, instead, Emmett closed his eyes again, bowed his head, and took a deep breath. With a sigh, Bella made an effort to put both feet on the floor. She ran her fingers through her hair, self-conscious and nervous.

Well. She supposed they had to think now. This was going to be interesting.

They sat side-by-side for seconds that turned into a full minute. He rubbed the back of his neck. Bella wrapped her arms around herself and bent forward a bit. She glanced at him to find him glancing at her. They both huffed out a nervous laugh.

Emmett reached out and took her hands. He played with her fingers, looking down instead of at her. "So, I don't know how to do this," he said.

"I suppose that depends on what this is." Her heart was pounding so fast.

He rolled his shoulders. "You know what I said that day." He did look up then, his lips twitching. "When I said I didn't know what played well with the ladies, it wasn't because I was into dudes. It was because I don't play the ladies very often." He furrowed his brow. "I mean… Well, that came out wrong."

"You mean you don't got game," Bella said, teasing.

"Hey, just because I haven't played the game doesn't mean I'm bad at it." Again, he furrowed his brow. "Except, it's not…I mean, it's not a game. It's not…"

Bella laughed. "You're cute when you're flustered."

He made a face, but his eyes were amused. "Just what every guy wants. To be cute."

"Adorable."

He rolled his eyes, but then his face grew serious again. "Okay. Let me try that again. There have been other girls, you know? But it wasn't… I mean, it wasn't a thing. It was fun. It was…" He shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "This is different for me. This is new."

"Yeah." Bella pulled her hands from his gently. There was a restless feeling creeping through her blood, and she felt the need to wring her hands. "It's, uh...complicated."

"Is it?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "It's not the work thing. I mean. I don't know what the Cullens will think. If they have any feelings about… I mean, I'm your boss, but it's not… We're not a high-powered business. It's a Mom and Pop store, and-"

"Bella."

She paused and looked up at him, biting her lower lip.

His smile gentled, and he took her hands again, soothing her knuckles. "Do you mean that you don't know what they'll think about a boss dating their employee or what they'll think about their daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, dating someone who isn't their son and brother?"

She exhaled in a gust, staring down at their joined hands. Her eyes stung, so she closed them, letting grief and guilt lap at her for a few breaths. "I'm not…" She swallowed hard.

"Hey, this is all kind of sudden, right?" He tapped the underside of her chin gently, and when she looked up at him, there was that gentle smile again. The one that sent a rush of warmth through her. "I mean. I like you. You know. _Like_ you. I knew that, but I wasn't planning on doing anything about that."

She pursed her lips, fighting a small smile. "And I thought you were with Jasper." She looked up at him, squeezing his fingers. "I like you too," she admitted. "And I don't know what I'm doing either."

"Well, at least we're on the same page. That's kind of comforting." He paused, shifting in his seat and angling toward her. "You know what I think?"

"What's that?"

"I think I've liked the dates we've had."

Bella arched an eyebrow. "Were these dates that happened in your head?"

He scoffed. "Lady, the things that have happened in my head couldn't be classified as dates." His grin widened when her cheeks flushed. "I'm an almost twenty-one year old man. My creativity doesn't run that deep."

She shook her head. "What dates, Emmett?"

"Like when you took me out for weiners."

Bella flushed even hotter. "Oh, man. That takes on a whole different context now."

"Yeah. Speaking of feeding the things that happen in my head…" Emmett cleared his throat. "And today at the fair. That was a cool date, I think."

She fought a grin, remembering their playful competition at the basketball hoop. "Mini dates."

"Yeah. So, maybe we start where a lot of other people start. With a real date."

There was that rush of giddiness again, that happiness that threatened to make her beam. "You're asking me out?"

"It'd be fun, right?"

"I don't know. What if you're boring?"

He looked indignant for a fraction of a second before he smiled at her again. "Go out with me."

"For soda pops and a movie?" she teased.

He cocked his head. "Oh, is this where we get into the age thing? You know, I'll be able to drink legally in four days."

She studied him a beat. "You really don't care that I'm older?"

"Pfft. Yeah, five years totally qualifies you for cougar status. Dating an older woman is hot." He tilted his head, giving her a knowing look. "Does it bother you that I'm younger?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "I don't think so."

Something heavy had materialized in the air between them, invisible but stifling. Her skin crawled, though not in the disgusted way. She just…

"Does it bother you that I'm not Edward?" he asked, his voice soft.

She looked up at him, guilty. "Bother isn't the right word," she whispered.

"It's weird."

She nodded.

"I get that," he said. "Stuff… You know, my life, the things that have happened to my mother...all that. There was never a lot I could do about it. And that made me really, really angry. I don't like being angry, so I kind of decided not to be. Not to take things too seriously, because if I did, it would make me frustrated. I don't like that either.

"But it's complicated, right? Life." He pushed her fingers back and forth. "This. It's complicated, and that's a serious thing. And…" He laughed. "I'm rambling, but I think what I mean is, I can be serious about that. Take you seriously, because I think it's not going to be easy for you. I think that's okay. You know?"

Tenderness washed through her. She pulled her hands from his again and took his face between them. He looked up at her from under his eyelashes, his expression vulnerable, almost little-boyish. So sweet. She leaned in and kissed him. A soft kiss to the lips. "You're a good man, Emmett McCarty."

"Does that mean you'll go on a date with me?"

She smiled. "Yeah. I think I can do that."

His grin was blinding. "Cool."

"Cool." She ruffled his hair. "You're a sweet kid, you know that?"

"Kid, huh?" He sat up at his full height, looming over her. "You're a foxy cougar, you know that?"

She groaned. "Oh, man. Cougar. You suck." She smacked his chest playfully.

He wound his arms around her, pulling her close. "I think we've established that I don't suck," he said in a rumbling, suggestive tone. Before she could retort, he tilted his head and kissed her. A good kiss. Thorough and slow and building.

"Ah, hell," he mumbled when they broke to breathe. "I think I need, you know, to not be here. Would kind of mess up the first date thing if I…" He scrubbed a hand over his face. "Yeah."

She bit the inside of her cheek. She felt foolish and nervous and excited. "Would it be a bad thing if you stayed?" she blurted.

It would be so easy. She could feel that in the air between them. It would be so easy to fall into something physical with him. It would be good and incendiary, and she wouldn't have to think twice.

He let out a shuddering breath. "A bad thing? Hah. No, it wouldn't be a bad thing." He flashed a lascivious grin, but almost instantly he reined it in. "Is it totally lame if I say I want to do things the right way? I mean, I know there's no _right_ way. But-"

"It's not lame." She kissed him once more, softly, and then disentangled herself from his arms, standing. "Now, get out of my house. How dare you come here without a chaperone? People will talk and my reputation will be ruined."

He stood, shaking his head. "Yeah, it's lame."

"But you're going to do it anyway."

"Yeah, well. You should do it once in your life, right? The traditional route. Just for funsies. Date then...whatever."

"See, the problem with that is that you kissed me before you asked me on a date."

He scrunched up his face. "Maybe I am bad at this game."

"Oooh." She kissed the tip of his chin. "I like a bad boy."

"Walking cliché, boss."

"And you're the one who wants to date me."

He sighed and looped his arms loosely around her. "I really do."

"Don't beg. It's unattractive."

"I didn't-"

"Get out of my house."

He didn't move, keeping his arms wrapped around her. "Okay."

"You have a date to plan."

"I do. That might be a bad thing for both of us seeing as I have no game. Good thing I have Jasper."

She gasped. "How did that go, by the way? I need to apologize to him."

"Peter is huffy, but he's listening. Jasper's a charming bastard. You know, _he_ has game. They'll be fine."

"But if you ask Jasper for dating advice, he might exact his revenge on me."

"That would be fun for me, though. To see you squirm."

She scowled at him. "You're not very attractive to me right now."

"Pfft. Liar."

She grunted and kissed him again. Then, she sighed, melting against him. "You should go."

"Yeah."

They stayed like that another minute, but then he stepped back. She opened the door, and watched as he walked away. He waved before he disappeared out of sight. A cute wave.

When Bella closed the door, she leaned back against it. She gave a little scream, a squeal, really. Very unbecoming of an adult woman.

This was going to be a good thing.

* * *

 **A/N: Eleanor would like you all to know that she's a goddess. I believe it.**

 **How are you kids?**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Let's see how this goes!**

* * *

"Dude." Emmett threw himself down on his bed, across the room from Jasper's. He stared up at the ceiling. His grin was so wide, he was going to have to start making fun of himself soon for being a goober. "I'm going to have sex with my boss."

On the other side of the room, Jasper chuffed. "Ego much? Nothing is a done deal. Don't count your chickens before they're hatched."

Emmett rolled over onto his side, looking at his friend. "No lie. This whole date thing is a technicality. She was up for it. She said it herself. I literally turned her down." He screwed his face up and banged his head into the pillow. "Shit. I turned down sex."

Jasper cackled. "That was probably a dumb move. What do you know about dating? She's going to realize she made a mistake letting you kiss her, but you know what? She can't take those memories away from you."

Emmett glared at him. "Whatever. I'm going to have sex with my boss."

"Stuck on that, are ya?"

"Come on. How many porns, gay or straight, are about banging your hot boss?"

"Well, let no one say Emmett McCarty isn't a gentleman."

"Did you miss the part where I turned down sex?"

Jasper let out a sigh and looked up from his computer, studying Emmett with that look, like he was reading him like a book. "Why did you pass up sex?"

Emmett sighed and rolled onto his back. "I dunno."

"Uh huh." Jasper's tone suggested he didn't believe him, and Emmett could feel his eyes on him. "This thing with Bella is a big deal, isn't it? I mean, a really big deal. You passed up sex because whatever's going on between you, it feels bigger than anything else?"

Emmett scoffed. "Hey, what's bigger than my—"

"Em."

He grunted, propping his hands behind his head. "Yeah. It's weird."

"And awesome?"

Emmett grinned. "Dude. I've kissed people before, right? It never felt like that."

"Yeah, you're gone." Jasper chuckled. "It's cute."

Emmett rolled over again and flashed him a grin. "So you'll help me plan something?"

Jasper grimaced. "You realize your girlfriend isn't my favorite person, right?"

"She'll win you over. Anyway, do it because you love me."

Jasper leered. "There are plenty of things I'd do because I love you, but she'd get in the way."

Emmett flung a spare pillow at his best friend. "Isn't your undying love of my sexy body what got you in trouble in the first place?" He sighed. "You'll like her when she doesn't think you're cheating on me."

"Yeah. Yeah." Jasper took the pillow Emmett had thrown at him and shoved it behind his back. "Okay, fine. I'll help."

 _ **~0~**_

Emmett had realized the night before that any date would have to wait a few days—until the day after his birthday to be exact. Between work, school, the fact he'd agreed to supervise Alice on Tuesday night, and the expectation of his family that he'd be spending the evening of his birthday with them, he had no down time until Friday.

But his schedule, and hers for that matter, was what it was. No changing that. What Emmett was more concerned about, as he pulled his car up in front of the shop, was what his work day would be like. He was eager to see Bella, but he was also nervous. Like, squirming in his seat nervous. It took him a minute to realize he was finger-combing his hair in his rearview mirror.

Irritated at how damn weird he was being, Emmett got out of his car. He took a steadying breath, reminded himself that he had a kickin' bod, adorable curly hair, and a panty-dropping dimple he could bust out if things got really dicey, and he headed in the door.

Bella was the first thing he saw. He stumbled, momentarily forgetting how to walk.

She'd done her hair. It was all sleek and shiny. She'd done her hair for him, and that made him all kinds of crazy.

But when she saw him, before he could remember how to make his legs move again, all the color drained from her face. She ducked her head, looking furtively between him and Carlisle who was standing beside her at the register.

Mid-conversation, Carlisle didn't seem to notice the look on her face. He didn't notice that she stuttered over her words for a few beats as Emmett came in the door. Or that she shifted on her feet and pushed her hair behind her ears.

Emmett looked down at his feet, a pang of hurt going through him in spite of himself. He understood. They hadn't talked about the _rules_ _,_ and she'd already told him she didn't know what Carlisle and his family would think.

He got it. He really did. It had to be weird. Still, it didn't make him feel good.

Whatever. He'd show her he was there to work. Not like he'd been expecting to come in and take her over the register counter.

Although…

Yeah, best not to think about all that when he had shelves to stock and the usual Monday rush of two to three customers in a single hour. Emmett got down to his normal Monday morning work. He was just going to have to ignore how weirdly aware he was of Bella just then. He didn't want to know where she was at any given moment—how she was holding her body or if she was looking at him. It didn't change the fact he _did_ know the answer to those questions.

Yeah, this was all a little strange. Not bad necessarily. Just more complicated than he was used to.

Emmett did his best not to dwell, and it was a surprisingly busy morning. A bratty kid wreaked havoc on his shelves, so that had to be dealt with. Bella was on the phone for an hour trying to track down a shipment of new tips that had been ordered over three weeks before.

He had an interesting conversation with Carlisle who was debating the merits of buying the empty space next door to theirs.

"It would be good to have a bigger space for the classes," Carlisle said, tapping on a pen against his clipboard.

"Yeah, I noticed the classes are getting more popular," Emmett agreed. "They spill out into the aisles sometimes."

Carlisle looked up, amused. "You know why that is, don't you?"

"People like fancy cupcakes?"

" _Women_ _,_ and more than a few men, like watching a young, handsome guy like you teach them how to make fancy cupcakes." Carlisle chuckled, shaking his head. "That's one of the reasons I'm debating the merits. You won't be around forever. What happens when you move on from us?"

Emmett laughed, a little incredulous. "I mean… It's not like it's me they come to see. When they come back, they always talk about how they made the cupcakes to impress someone. They're using the skill."

"Well, it's a nice byproduct in this case." Carlisle put the clipboard down, folding his arms over his chest and considered Emmett. "You really haven't noticed the trend?"

"Trend?"

"The people who come back almost always bring a friend. They're coming back to gawk."

Emmett blinked, and then he laughed. "I mean, I know they think it's funny…"

"The whole thing works. The get up." Carlisle gestured to his ridiculous apron. "Your personality. I know you laugh it all off, and they eat that up. And yes, of course, it's an interesting skill to have."

He rubbed a thumb over his chin for another moment before he looked up at Emmett again. "This is all very cart before the horse, but if I do make more room for classes, I'd like to talk about you doing the classes as your one and only job. In fact, It would be a promotion for sure because you'd be responsible for constructing the content."

Emmett stared. What the hell was happening right now? "That's like...a legit job." He flinched and shook his head. "I mean, not that this isn't a real job."

Carlisle put a hand up, stalling his babbling with a smile. "I know what you mean, and you're right. It's the kind of thing that looks better on a resume than cashier. You're making us money, Emmett. You have an appeal." He shrugged. "And people do like fancy cupcakes.

"Anyway, don't worry about it now. There's still a lot that needs to be sorted out. Why don't you take a break? I can manage out here for fifteen or so."

"Weirdest day ever," Emmett muttered to himself as he headed to the back.

And, it got weirder. As he passed the storage area, a hand shot out, wrapped around his wrist, and hauled him behind a shelving unit. Caught off guard, he crashed forward, only barely catching himself on another shelf before he squished Bella.

"Sorry," she said, palms up as though she could stop him from falling. "Sorry. I...Sorry."

"It's okay." There was this weird hum in the air. He fought the instinct to pull her into his arms. He'd been dying to kiss her all morning, but he wasn't at all sure what she wanted.

She sighed and rested her hands tentatively on his chest, looking up with pinched uncertainty in her eyes. "I know I acted weird when you came in this morning." Her fingers played along the strings of his ridiculous apron. "It's not you. I don't want you to think that I'm ashamed of anything." Her eyes met his. "I'm not ashamed of you."

Whatever small hurt he'd felt, it dissipated with her words. He smiled easily and pressed his hand over hers against his chest. He brought her hands to his lips and kissed her fingers. It was so cheesy, and yet he liked doing it. He cupped her hand in both of his. "It's okay."

"I just need a little time. I just need to figure things out."

"Bella." He let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her closer. "It's cool. I get it." He tilted his head down, resting his forehead against hers. "Besides, this is all kinds of sexy. If you want to keep tugging me into dark corners to make out with me, it's only going to make me more interested in you. Something about intrigue and the forbidden or something. I don't know. They make a lot of movies about it."

Her lips twitched, and she tilted her head up. Her fingers tickled his sides. "I'm not making out with you."

"I can fix that." He tilted his head down, catching her lips with his. He sighed with content, licking the inside of her bottom lip. "Mmmm." He kissed her again, stroking his tongue along hers. "Lemon cream."

"Breakfast of champions."

"I haven't had breakfast yet." He took her face between his hands, licking the taste from her mouth.

She laughed and then moaned, melting against him. Her little kisses were sweeter even than the remnants of cupcake he tasted. "This is okay?" he asked, breathless and weirdly shy. "If we're careful?" He kissed her again. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"I'm not uncomfortable."

"So I can kiss you at work?" He pecked her lips. "In the dark?"

"If you must."

 _ **~0~**_

A few days later, at exactly midnight, there was a soft knock on his bedroom door. He grinned, setting his laptop aside, and hurried to open the door.

"You know, it's creepy to stand around in a dark hallway, waiting for midnight to roll around."

His mother smirked. "So. Here it is. You've been a pain in my ass for twenty-one years."

"You like me."

"I do." His mother wrapped him in a tight hug. "Happy birthday, baby boy."

Emmett rocked her a few times. "Thanks for making me, Mom."

"I almost never regret it." She ruffled his hair. "Now come on." She gestured with her head over her shoulder.

He arched an eyebrow. "We're going somewhere?"

"You're twenty-one. Where do you think we're going?" She peered around him into the room. "And where's Jasper, by the way?"

"He's out with Peter. Wait, so we're going to a bar? Now?"

She looked bemused. "Let that be your first lesson about bars. They're still open at midnight. Now, come on. I want to buy you your first drink."

"Mom, you gave me my first drink when I was sixteen."

"I still can't believe that was your first drink. Late bloomer." She shook her head. "I want to buy you your first legal drink."

"Well, only if you insist."

 _ **~0~**_

Only a few minutes later, they were two blocks away from their house. Almost as soon as they sat down, Esme did her best to make him feel comfortable.

"I just came in to buy my son his very first drink," she said, too loudly.

"Oh, shit." Emmett covered his face with his hands. He heard a few whoops from the people nearby.

"That's adorable," he heard a woman say, and his face got so hot.

The bartender, who looked way too amused, started doing something behind the bar. "Well, first shot's on us, then." He smacked down a full shot glass of something pure white in front of Emmett. "Go on then, little boy. Shot. Shot. Shot."

With the bartender to egg them on, soon what had to be most of the whole bar joined in. His mother looked downright gleeful as she pounded the bar right along with them. Emmett hung his head a second, stared at the drink, then shot it back. He almost gagged.

"That...was milk," he said, coughing once.

"You have to walk before you run." The bartender flashed him a shit-eating grin as his audience laughed. "Okay, okay. How about a round of Happy Birthday, everyone," he shouted out to the crowd.

Emmett had to laugh. It was the most warped version of Happy Birthday he'd ever heard, sung by twenty or thirty people drunk off their asses. But as they sang, the bartender set a tall shot glass in front of Emmett. Using a spoon to make the layers, he poured first Kahlua, then Bailey's, then topped it off with Grand Marnier. He set the concoction on fire just in time for the last, "Happy birthday to you."

After he'd blown out the flame, Emmett obligingly took the shot, a B 52 he learned later, with a wince only for show. He grinned and bowed his head at the round of applause that got.

"Flaming drinks. Now that's something you maybe shouldn't have introduced me to," Emmett quipped after he'd gotten the drink he really wanted—a simple Jack and Coke.

Esme smiled at him. "Try not to burn the house down trying to figure out how they did it."

"Oh, I'll try."

Maybe it was the alcohol or the atmosphere. Either way, when his mother asked how things were with him, the truth he'd been nervous to tell her came tumbling out.

"There's a girl. A woman. And it might be serious."

He watched as his mother's happy smile faded first to shock and then a more careful, wary expression. She looked down at the table, obviously searching for the right words. "Might be?"

Emmett laughed, a nervous little titter. "It's complicated. Not horrible complicated. Nothing bad. Just not simple."

His mother's smile was wry. "Isn't that the way it always is." She made an effort to keep her tone light. "So your first serious girlfriend. How did this happen? I mean _when_ _?_ You're so busy. Is it a woman from school?" She squinted. "Please don't tell me it's a professor."

"Are you going to write this story for me or what?" He finished off his drink. "I can't tell you the details yet. Not because it's bad. Just, we haven't had time to sort things out. I just don't like having secrets from you."

She tilted her head, studying him. "Why are you so nervous about talking to me about it?"

He shrugged. "You always told me the last thing I should be serious about at my age is a relationship. And that made sense. I don't get to be as young and stupid as you think I should be." He looked down. "You worry about me too much."

"That's my job, Em." She reached across the table, peeling his hands away from his drink so she could squeeze them. "This is your life. You're the only one who gets to say what it's supposed to look like. I'm your mother. I'm the one who gets to worry because you do too much for me and your sister. You're going to make your own mistakes. I just get to worry you'll make my mistakes because I didn't give you a better example."

"Mom—"

"There's no right answer. I know that. I wasn't serious about your father." She winced. "And you were the one who had to rescue all of us from Charles." She shook her head and smiled. "I want a better life for you. I want the best for you, but for all my mistakes I have a beautiful, bright little girl and a sweet, handsome young man to show for it. God knows, I trust your judgment in these things more than I trust mine. You'll be okay, and I'm going to be here for you."

"You're a good mom, Mom."

Her grin widened. "Well, I did a few things right."

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, okay. Date time next chapter. I promise.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Rawr, my friends. Rawr.**

 **Let's have some fun.**

* * *

It had been an interesting five days. Five days peppered with clandestine kisses and risque text messages. No one made her laugh the way Emmett did. No one ever had.

 _No one_ ever had.

As much as she tried not to, how could she help but compare Emmett and Edward? They were the two biggest surprises life had ever thrown at her. Edward had changed the landscape of her life dramatically when they'd met. Emmett had every chance of doing the same.

Bella had always known that in some distant future, there would be someone after Edward. In the quiet of the night, alone in an apartment she'd chosen so long ago with her young husband, Bella would wonder what that person looked like, who he was and what her life would look like with him. She'd always shut that line of thinking down as soon as she could, her heart wrenching and crying for what it couldn't have—the happily ever after she'd planned with the man she loved.

In a million years, she never could have predicted someone like Emmett. Edward had been an intellectual, interested in history, politics, philosophy, and discussion. Emmett was plenty intelligent, but he lived more in the moment, focused on people and talking about the things actually happening all around him. Edward had been brooding and quiet. Emmett let his troubles slide right off his back, and he was loud.

Emmett made her laugh. Edward had always made her smile, made her happy, but Emmett made her _laugh_ _._ He made her world lighter and that, conversely, gave her no small amount of guilt.

Confusing. And part of her still writhed, still screamed, because she still wanted all the things she and Edward had whispered about. Yet she wanted this too. She was giddy with it—desire and possibility. She wanted to keep moving forward. As weird as it felt sometimes, it was also wonderful.

She'd gone to the doctor on Tuesday to go back on birth control. What a surreal moment that had been. She remembered clearly when, some months after Edward died, during her annual check up, her doctor had gently suggested that she didn't need to refill her birth control prescription.

"You can always start up again when you're ready to be sexually active," she'd said.

And now, Bella was. She really was ready. When she thought about it, her breath caught and her nipples tightened. It was far from the only thing on her mind, but, well… Like Emmett had said, he was a physical kind of guy. She was very, _very_ aware of that.

Friday, the day after his birthday, Bella was driven to distraction by his physical presence. They were sharing a morning shift. Emmett had the afternoon off for a class he was going to blow off today. Bella had swapped with Elizabeth Cullen, Edward and Carlisle's mother, so she could have the afternoon off as well.

Unfortunately, Bella had been part of a brainstorming session the day before about the plans to expand the shop. She'd been thinking about how much she liked watching Emmett when he was doing his cupcake thing, and talking with Carlisle about new ways to advertise. She'd had the half-cocked idea that it would be fun to see Emmett as a YouTube sensation. Why not? The chick who did Nerdy Nummies had her schtick being both nerdy and adorable. Emmett's schtick was playing off the whole looks-can-be-deceiving thing, looking like a linebacker while wearing a pink, frilly apron, and making delicate cupcake designs. He was charismatic and funny, why not create a YouTube channel?

Carlisle thought it had potential, and so he was floating the idea to Emmett while Bella bustled around the shop, pretending she didn't feel a burst of static electricity every time she got too close. Despite the cool temperature of the shop, Bella was hot. She'd swept her hair up into a bun, and when there was a lull in things to do up front, she headed for the back of the shop. At the sink in the little kitchen area where employees could take a break, she splashed cool water on her neck and closed her eyes.

What was going to happen today?

As she stood there for a moment, lost in nerves and fantasy, she was suddenly and acutely aware of a presence just behind her. She sucked in a breath, feeling the heat of him prickling on her skin. For a man as loud as he normally was, Emmett could be quick and silent when he wanted to be, and if he was standing this close to her, Carlisle must have left.

He rested his hands at her hips, bringing her slightly back against him. Bella shivered when his lips brushed her shoulder. Her mind spun, and her cheeks flushed even hotter at the images that went through her head. There were more than a few filthy suggestions about exactly what he could do to her right then and exactly how fast he could do it.

"You're getting ahead of yourself," she said to both of them, tilting her head as he kissed up her neck. His hands had come around to cup her belly, dangerously close to straying lower. "I thought you wanted to try dating first."

He grumbled—a rumbling sound that vibrated against her skin sending delicious thrills through her body. "I've never been good about not sneaking a taste." His nose nuzzled her cheek. "Or sticking a finger in the cake batter."

"Stick a finger in the cake batter? Now _that's_ a healthcode violation." She spun around, wrapping her arms around his neck as she pushed up onto the balls of her feet. "You better not let your boss hear things like that or your ass is so fired."

"Uh huh." Emmett pushed forward, pinning her back against the counter with his hands on either side of her. "Well, from what I hear, my boss is so impressed with my performance, she wants to release my bake tapes on the internet for everyone else to enjoy." He nipped her lips in a quick kiss, grinning wolfishly. "And I don't think she'd mind where I stick my fingers."

Bella bit the inside of her cheek unsure whether she wanted to laugh or moan. Thankfully, she didn't have much time to think about it. He tilted his head to catch her lips in full, his kiss as heated as her blood boiling in her veins. She whimpered into his mouth, threading her fingers into his soft, curly hair. His body pressed against her, consumed her.

Just as she'd about forgotten where she was, a distant bell jangled. A customer had walked in the door.

"Fuck," Emmett muttered under his breath, breaking their kiss and resting his forehead against hers.

Bella stroked the back of his neck, too dizzy to let him go just yet. "An hour, right?" she asked, way too eager to be out of here.

"Mmmhmm." His breathing had about evened out. He sighed and kissed her again sweetly. "I'll go take care of them."

Bella stayed braced against the counter, watching his retreating form, wondering again what the hell she'd gotten into?

 _ **~0~**_

"Hey, you're really quiet." Emmett bumped her hand with his as they strolled down a trail cut through a dense forest.

Bella turned her head, making an effort to smile at him. "Sorry. I guess I spaced out. I must be still in shock that we live near this much nature."

He smiled back. "If you know where to look." He let his fingers brush hers again and then held her hand. "But I think something is actually wrong, and I wish you'd tell me."

Bella sighed. Emmett was remarkably good at picking up on moods. "It's not wrong. There's nothing really wrong. It's just, I don't know, bittersweet."

"Does this have something to do with Edward?" Emmett asked when she didn't offer any other explanation.

She was quiet for a few more steps. "It's deja vu. I lied. Edward took me hiking on our second date to show me a place that was special to him." Their meadow had felt so magical back then.

Emmett stopped short, and since he was still holding her hand, stumbled backward a step. He quickly put a steadying hand on her back. "Sorry. Oh, man." He rubbed the back of his neck. "We can go back. It's no big deal."

"No." Bella took his hand again and tugged. "It's nice. Seriously, Em, it's nice out here. It's really pretty. Please don't let me ruin this. I was just having a moment." She stepped up to him, her hands at his side, tilting her head up. "I'm here with you, and I want to be here with you."

His smile was gentle, if a little sheepish. He looped his arms around her, swaying her a bit back and forth. "I don't know if it's a good sign or a bad one. This isn't just a hike. I want to show you a place special to me too."

Bella's eyebrows shot skyward. "Really?"

"Yeah," he said with a laugh. "Jasper and I found it when we were kids. I'm sure someone else knows it exists but there was never anyone there when we went."

A genuine and cheeky grin tugged at the corner of her mouth. Bella was charmed by the thought of baby Emmett and Jasper running through these woods, getting into mischief. "So what you're saying is, you're taking me off into the middle of the woods where no one can hear me scream? You know, if you wanted to kill me or something."

His answering grin was all teeth, his eyes bright with lascivious glint. "You figured out my cunning plot."

"You _are_ going to murder me out here?" She pretended to cringe away from him, but he kept her in the circle of his arms.

"No, the other thing. The bit about making you scream."

Though lust coiled inside her, making her mouth go dry at the thought, Bella put a shocked face on. "Mr. McCarty. What makes you think I put out on a first date?"

His grin, if anything, grew wider. "You know what they say about assumptions, boss." He leaned in close, so his mouth was so near hers it stole her breath. "I didn't say anything about how I was going to make you scream." He pulled away from her, stepping to the side but keeping her hand. "Now come on. This hike ain't gonna walk itself."

 _ **~0~**_

True to his word, the hike wasn't difficult. It was only twenty minutes after their short stop that they arrived at their destination—a river that widened into a calm, clear pool on one side even while water rushed and tumbled on the other.

"This is beautiful," Bella said, hands on her hips as she surveyed the scenery. "Wow."

Emmett came up beside her. He set down the backpack he'd been wearing and put an arm around her waist. "You like it?"

She nodded, and looked up at him. "I do have one complaint."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. That last hill made me all sweaty. Or did you do that on purpose. You know, to make sure you can keep your hands off me."

"Ah, no." Emmett's eyes slid down her body. "Not planning on keeping my hands to myself. I failed that class in kindergarten." His eyes lingered a moment longer on her breasts, and Bella was hyper-conscious of the glean of sweat there. She caught her breath, and he raised his eyes to hers. "I have a plan, though. If you're really that concerned about the sweat."

"What's th—" Her question cut off in a screech as Emmett tightened his hold on her and leapt with her into the water.

It was a warm but not very hot day, so the water—while instantly solving her sweat problem, as promised—was just a wee bit too cold. Bella gasped as she broke the surface of the water. Emmett still had his arm around her, buoying her nicely. She sputtered and splashed him in the face. "Emmett! What the hell!"

He didn't let her get away, keeping his arm around her. He looked positively gleeful. "I did promise you I'd make you scream." He waggled his eyebrows.

Bella finally succeeded in pushing away from him. She kicked her legs, keeping herself afloat while she splashed him. He lunged for her, managing to grab her the second time he tried. He kept her hands in a tight grip, resulting in a lot of giggling between the two of them. Bella tried to brace her feet against his leg but only ended up dunking herself.

She scrambled up on his back, making it difficult for him to keep his head above water for a few minutes as they played. It worked until he walked to the edge of the swimming hole so his feet were firm on the ground.

Then, Bella looped her arms around his wide shoulders, resting her head near his neck. They both quieted, and he waded back into the pool, floating with her in the cool water for a few minutes. His hands were firm under her legs, keeping her wrapped around him.

When Bella shivered, Emmett moved toward the shore again. He set her down, and Bella moved out into the sunshine, toeing off her sodden shoes as she did. "You're such a brat," she muttered, laughing as she curled her bare toes in the grass.

"What can I say? My momma didn't raise me right."

"That's a lie. Your momma is a peach. You're just a bad egg." Bella chafed her arms, gritting her teeth a bit to keep from shivering.

"Totally rotten," Emmett agreed. He'd already laid out a large blanket, and he was rummaging through the pack. He pulled out a beach towel and stood, holding out from hand to hand. "Come here."

Feeling inexplicably shy, Bella walked to him. He wrapped her up in the towel and pulled her down with him on the blanket. He guided her so she was sitting between his legs, her back against his chest and his arms wrapped around her.

She did like this. A lot. She liked that he was so big, it felt like he could consume her. With him wrapped around her like this, she was warm and safe.

He moved her hair off to one shoulder, making her laugh again when he licked the remnants of water off her skin. "I thought you said you brought water bottles."

"I did, but I like this better."

"Oh, yes. Salt and algae."

"Mmm. It works."

Bella turned her head, catching his lips in a sweet, lingering kiss. She wasn't sure if she was exasperated or grateful that his hands didn't roam. Not that the kisses weren't nice. She would gladly stay here under the bright sunshine letting him kiss her slowly senseless, but there was a part of her that was waiting for the obvious line.

It would be so easy. " _We need to get our clothes dry. Shucks. We didn't bring a change._ _"_ And if he laid her back on that blanket, she would probably forget the fact there was no guarantee there was no one else out here in these woods.

She did want him.

But there was a part of her, too, that was relieved they seemed to be easing into things. Not slowly. It hadn't even been a week since their first kiss. But not leaping into anything either. It didn't make her self-conscious. She knew damn well he wanted her. It was nice that he wasn't pouncing on her when he knew he could.

Deja vu still plagued her. She'd rested like this in Edward's arms in his meadow. The similarities made it hard to stop thinking about it.

"Bella?" Emmett dropped kisses along her cheek.

"Hmm?"

He hesitated, his arms tightening around her. "Will you tell me about… about Edward?"

She sucked in a sharp breath, and he stumbled over his words. "I don't know if that's a weird thing to ask, and if you don't want to, that's fine. Obviously. I just want to make things easier if I can." He pulled back slightly so he could look at her. "And I don't want you to think that you can't talk about him."

Unsure how she felt about the question, Bella stayed quiet, studying his face. She saw nothing but tenderness there, earnestness. Her heart wanted to break when she realized exactly what he was doing.

He was caring for her. Like a boyfriend. Like a _good_ boyfriend.

Edward had been good at caring for her. It had always been one of his top priorities to make sure she had what she needed. He coaxed her to relieve her burdens, venting when she needed. He got her medicine and tucked her into bed when she was sick. He was her cheerleader when she needed words of encouragement, and always on her side. She was more than capable of taking care of herself. She'd done it before Edward, and she'd done it after, but it was nice. Nice of someone to think about what she needed and how she felt.

Bella released a shuddering sigh and leaned back against him again, snuggling close. It took a few minutes to swallow past the lump in her throat, and then she began to speak.

"When I was in high school, I was so above all the drama." She scoffed. "So much drama. It was all so ridiculous to me—the weird things people did when they were supposedly oh so in love."

"I don't miss high school," Emmett said, and Bella could feel his chuckle against her back.

"Yeah. But when I was seventeen, I moved with my dad to this tiny town in Washington. Edward had moved there the year before. His mother and father separated for a while." She sighed, wistful now, and laughed. "All of this sounds so dumb when I say it out loud, but long story short, I met Edward and everything changed."

She paused, trying to find the words. Her voice was thick with emotion when she spoke. "What I had with him was so intense and serious. Heavy. Not bad. Heavy in the best way, but, I don't know...consuming."

By contrast, what was happening between her and Emmett was so much lighter. Sunnier. Not that she wasn't serious about him. It just wasn't as concentrated. It wasn't the two of them in a world of their own. And that… That wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Bella swallowed hard. "We were so happy," she whispered. "I was so happy."

And when he was gone, it was like the color had drained out of the universe. Sight, smell, sound—all of it just faded.

That was far and away the thing that most terrified her about whatever was happening between them. Emmett made her happy. So, so happy. And she had the weird, kind of wonderful feeling, that it could be the kind of happiness that lasted. A different kind of happiness than what she'd found with Edward, but not less.

But that was a concept she didn't know how to put into words. She wasn't ready. He meant so much to her. She hadn't quite wrapped her head around that simple fact yet, hadn't let herself settle into what she felt.

Rather than speak, she did her best to show him what she felt. She turned, letting the towel he'd wrapped around her slide down her shoulders. She knelt between his legs and pushed him so he was laying back on the blanket. She draped herself over him and kissed him, and kissed him, and kissed him under the warm sunshine.

* * *

 **A/N: *smooches***


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Heya, ducks. Let's see what our kids are up to.**

* * *

Okay, so, here was the thing. Emmett couldn't tell if he was going to get lucky.

Like, in the grand scheme of things, he knew it was going to happen eventually. There was no question there. He wasn't going to push her. She'd been in epic-love with her husband, and this all had to be confusing. Maybe falling for someone again. And he was pretty sure she was falling for him. She wasn't just after his sexy bod, though who could blame her there?

But despite the fact Edward had definitely been on her mind, she'd still been there with him. She'd still been content to have _his_ arms wrap around her. She'd kissed him without wishing he was Edward. Emmett was sure of all that.

So, sex. Maybe not out of the question tonight?

"What the hell are you concentrating so hard on?" Bella asked with a laugh. "You look like you're trying to orchestrate world peace in your head."

 _Shit. Busted_ _._ "Naw, I was just trying to figure out my Fantasy Football roster."

"Oh, I see. I'm that boring, huh? You're so done talking with me that you're making up fake football teams. I see how it is." She crossed her arms and pretended to pout.

He reached over and began to pry her left arm away from her body. When he succeeded, he slipped his hand into hers, clutching it over the shifter. He risked a glance to grin cheekily at her. He liked being able to touch her this way. Kind of cheesy, he supposed, but it made him happy. "Don't worry, boss. I just had to have a complete picture, see? I was picturing you in a cheerleader outfit."

She balked. "Ew. I refuse to be a cheerleader, even in your weirdo fantasies. Why can't I be a football player? Those little white pants make anyone's ass look good."

Swallowing a groan, Emmett's hand tightened on hers reflexively. Now there was an image he was going to keep for future reference. "Wait, so, you perv on football players' butts?"

"You know this is a game involving a bunch of guys playing with balls, in which the words tight end and tackle are prominent, right? And men frequently throw themselves in a heap?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"Wait, so, you want me to put you in my football fantasy as a football player and then imagine a bunch of guys piling on top of you?"

She snorted. "Hey, whatever floats your boat. I'm not here to judge. But I have to say, if you're still trying to convince me you're not gay, maybe you should replace all the other players with women."

"Aw, babe." Continuing in his sudden like of cheesy moves, Emmett raised her hand to his lips and gave her knuckles a loud smack of a kiss. "You're the only one I wanna see in my dreams."

She sucked in a sharp breath and Emmett felt his cheeks go hot. Just as he was about to make fun of himself—where the hell had that line come from—she laughed.

"Damn, McCarty. That was smooth as hell. I guess it's a good thing I got to you before you could get into a bar legally. You'd get all sorts of digits."

"So what you're saying is I have game after all?"

"I'm just saying a weaker woman would fall for a line like that. Your charm doesn't work on me."

"Uh huh." He pulled the car into her driveway and angled his body toward her. He cupped his hand at the back of her neck. "I think you're lying to me, boss." Before she could argue, he pulled her to him. The forty-five minute drive had really been too long to go without kissing her.

Bella sighed into his mouth and took his face between her hands. She did this awesome thing with her thumbs, pressing them behind his ears and rubbing that space. It drove him all kinds of crazy. He pressed his free hand to the small of her back and splayed his fingers wide.

Oh, hell. He wasn't ready for this date to be over. He wasn't ready to stop kissing her, touching her. He wasn't ready to walk her to the door and kiss her chastely goodnight. His fingers itched for more, to inch up her shirt and skim along her skin. It would be easy, so easy, to take it further right here. Really give her neighbors something to talk about.

In Emmett's experience, this kind of kissing led to sex. His body knew it. His every muscle was coiled, waiting to spring, waiting for the sweet exertion and release. What a thought that was. Not just sex. Sex with Bella. Sex with Bella. His brain chanted it, making it hard to think of anything else.

And she wasn't helping things any at all. It wasn't as though she was passive. Her kisses weren't exactly innocent. She knew a thing or seven about erogenous zones. Her touch combined with the languid strokes of her tongue in his mouth sent thrills up and down his spine. Electricity zinged through his veins. Yeah, his body knew exactly what he wanted.

With a groan, he pulled back. Damn if his want for her didn't make his head spin. He was dizzy with want. He closed his eyes, trying to catch his breath as he licked the remnants of her taste from his lips.

"Oh, hell," she muttered so softly he almost didn't hear her.

He opened his eyes to find her watching him. Even in the limited light, he could see the same want he felt reflected back at him.

"Will you…" Bella's voice came out like gravel. So fucking sexy, but she stopped and swallowed hard. She brushed her fingers through his hair, and he could feel the slight tremor in them. She was nervous about something. But when she spoke again, her voice was steady. "Come in."

Lightning shot down Emmett's spine and his cock, already half-mast from all the kissing, twitched like a dog tilting its head. "Oh, hell yeah."

She laughed, twirling one of his longer curls around her finger as she smirked at him. "You remember what I said about you being smooth? I take it all back."

He grunted, stealing a nip of a kiss. "Not my fault. That was my little head talking, and that mother fucker has no chill."

"Uh huh." She rested a hand high on his thigh. He had to press his tongue to the roof of his mouth to keep from making embarrassing noises as her fingertips skimmed so close to where he really wanted her. "So, how little of a head are we talking here?"

"Oh, baby. Why don't you— Wait. What?" He sat up straight, blinking at her as he replayed her words. "My… You…"

She bit her bottom lip, and he could tell she was trying not to laugh at him. "It's okay," she said with a lilt, like she was cooing at him. "I work well with mini cupcakes." She flashed him a grin before she got out of the car, cackling.

"Mini cupcake," Emmett muttered. He watched her as she strode up the walk with a bounce in her step. He groaned, reaching down to readjust himself. Before he got out of the car, he fished out the condoms he'd stashed in the glove compartment.

She was just putting the key in the lock when he caught up to her. He got a firm grip with his hands on either side of her waist and pulled her pretty little ass back against him. "What do you think, boss?" he growled, his lips to her ear. "Does that feel little to you?"

Her hands fumbled at the handle of the door, but she managed to push it open even as he kissed a line down her cheek. She gasped and tilted her head, giving him access to her neck that he quickly took advantage of. "Assume much? I only asked you to come inside, and you're all over me. Maybe I was just being polite and offering you a drink."

Emmett straightened up, letting go of her like she'd tossed a bucket of ice water at him. "Whoa, I didn't… I mean, you—"

Bella's grin was wide as she laughed. She grabbed him by his shirt and hauled him into her house. "You're easy when you're horny, you know that?"

"Yeah, I'm easy." Hands to her hips, he backed her up against the wall in the entryway, pinning her body beneath his. "See, I got this hot boss, and I've had a lot of time to think about the things I want to do to her."

She bit her lip, but he didn't think she was trying to keep from laughing at him this time. Her eyes had gone lust-dark. She tilted her head up, and he took that invitation. "Tell me what kinds of things," she whispered against his mouth in between kisses.

She was evil, he decided. She was asking him to think straight when all he wanted to do was...Well, whatever it took to get inside her as fast as he could. His cock was aching now, straining against his jeans, and he had no doubt she was moving her leg like that, so it brushed him and rubbed him, on purpose.

He took a step backward, bringing her away from the wall. "You know the couch at work? In the back?" He took her hands in his, walking backward and pulling her with him.

"Mmhmm."

The backs of his legs encountered her couch and he sat. He pulled her down so she was on his lap, groaning a little when her weight bore down on his erection. He breathed in through his nose and out again. He could take this slow. He could feel the way her heart beat fast.

"Sometimes, when you got all stressed and flustered, I wanted to hold you like this." He moved her hair off one shoulder so he could nip and nibble at her ear.

"Aw, you wanted to give me a hug? That's so sw— Ah." Her teasing cut off as Emmett finally, finally slipped his hands under her shirt, tickling her skin as he moved up. She hadn't put her bra back on after their impromptu—to her—swim, so he could cup the warm weight of her in his palms.

He moved his lips to her neck and sucked there gently. "I was thinking more about how I could make you forget for a little while." He moved his hands back down to the hem of her shirt and pulled it up. She raised her arms, letting him take it off. She didn't put her arms down, instead reaching back to tangle her fingers through his hair. And that... That gave him access and a view that was about a thousand times more erotic than any porn he'd ever seen.

"Holy damn, Bella." His voice had gone all scratchy. It was just that he liked this, like, a lot. He liked the way she arched up as he ran his hands from her belly up to cup her breasts again. He liked the little noise she made, and the way her fingers tightened in his hair when he rolled her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. "You're just so pretty, you know? You're so pretty like this."

"Christ." She craned her head back, kissing him once before she settled again. "Of course you'd be a talker. Obviously."

Actually, he'd never thought he was good at words. He just kind of blurted the thoughts that traipsed through his head. He let his fingers stroke lines down her center. He tickled her belly, enjoying the way she gasped and laughed, before he dropped his hand to the button of her jeans. "I can think of other things I can do with my mouth, if you'd prefer that."

"No, ahhh." She writhed on his lap as he rubbed her over her jeans, still damp from earlier that day. "I like this." Her words were breathy. "I like this just fine."

"Do you?" He dragged the zipper of her jeans down slowly, but then abandoned them, tickling the inside of her thigh instead.

"Emmett, you damn tease." Her hips shifted up, tempting his hand back where she wanted him.

"I'm the tease?" He traced the shape of her, still keeping his hands on fabric and ignoring the heat that beckoned him. He tilted his head so he could whisper in her ear. "You're the one who's wiggling all over my dick, and I you think I'm the tease?"

She ground her ass against him, and he muffled a moan in her hair. With a growl, he shifted so his feet were inside hers. He pushed, spreading her legs wide. He teased the entrance of the zipper. "You want me to touch you here?"

"Damn you," she muttered, and he couldn't help but agree with her. He wanted nothing more than to bend her over this damn couch and take her hard and fast. He was teasing both of them, and he didn't know why except that he was enjoying the hell out of watching his cool, collected Bella come undone in his arms.

"You want me to touch you?" he asked again, rocking his hips in time with hers. He was going to come in his pants at this rate, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"I want you to…" Her whole body shuddered. She swallowed hard and tried again. "I want you to fuck me."

"Ah, hell. Baby." He attacked her neck, dragging his teeth along her skin. "You have no idea…"

But that was a filthy thought. If she only knew how many times she said those exact words in his head as he stroked himself. Yeah, there was no way he was going to last long when he finally got inside her.

He continued to suck at her skin as he slipped his fingers into her jeans. He released her with a wet pop, raising his head when he encountered skin, coarse hair and nothing else. "Bella," he said. Shocked.

She huffed. "Some jackass threw me in a river today. Wet panties aren't comfortable."

"Hmm." He slid two fingers along her slit. "Now that's a problem you're going to have a lot more if I have anything to say about it."

"Planning to throw me in more bodies of water?"

"Sure, boss. That's totally what I meant." He found her clit and rubbed in slow circles. He swallowed a groan at the sound of the little mewls she made as he moved his fingers lower with each pass. "Oh, hell, Bella. You're so wet. You're all hot and ready for me."

"I did try to tell you." She stood, pulling away from his hold, but didn't go far. She only turned around to face him.

"Wow," he couldn't help but say. She was all kinds of sexy. Her hair was wild as it spilled to her shoulders. Her skin was flushed right down to her proud, prominent nipples set on small, perky breasts. The button of her jeans was undone, exposing just a peek of her sex.

Her smile was gentle as she ran the back of her knuckle down his cheek. "Lose the clothes."

Well, hell yes.

He locked his eyes on hers and stood up, pulling his shirt off as he did. It was weirdly erotic watching her eyes drift down his body. "Wow," she murmured, echoing his sentiment from before.

He snorted. "You're a boob man."

She glanced up at him. "Are you?"

He traced the shape of her breasts with a fingertip. "Never saw the point of choosing. I like boobs. I like butts. I like this little bit right here." He skimmed his fingers over her collarbone. "And right here." He reached around to tease the small of her back. He'd really liked it when she bent over or stretched for something, exposing this little strip of skin. "I could move in here."

"I see." Her fingers were finding patterns in the lines of his muscles. "Hmmm. Now here's something new." She stroked a hand over the hard bulge in his jeans. "I'd say I have no favorite bits, but just to be fair…"

Emmett made some weird, choked noise at the back of his throat as she reached in his pants to free his dick. More fantasies come to life, and he was kind of tongue tied by it. She explored his length with her fingers, licking her lips, and he swore he was going to lose his mind.

Then, she patted his head as though it were a gerbil and looked up at him. "Aw. Mini cupcake."

"What the—Uh huh, you're a damn liar."

He lunged for her then, and the next few minutes were lost to playful squeaks and threats. She ran, but not far. He caught her and kissed her. When they tried to get their pants off only to find no one could get damp jeans off with any kind of grace, they giggled together at their awkward tumbling.

But then, when she straddled his lap and rested her hands on his shoulders, it was like the whole world went quiet. Their titters quieted and their smiles got shy and tender. It was kind of weird but good. So good. And he had no idea what came over him, why there were suddenly so many things to say he had no words for.

"I'm going to be so good to you, Bella," he said, stroking her back. "I swear I am." His dick was so hard for her, but it seemed really important that she knew that.

She tilted her head and ran her fingers through his curls. "I know that, Em," she whispered.

Then, she kissed him. She kissed him slow and deep, running her wet center over his aching cock.

He reached between them, rolling the condom on. He held the base of his shaft while she lifted and, inch by sweet inch, slid down on him, taking him in deep. Emmett hissed, holding her tightly against him. She whimpered.

They began to move together, stealing quick, soft kisses as they breathed in each other's breath.

Yeah, he'd had this fantasy too. Bella bouncing on his dick, her pretty tits hard against his skin. Her lips hungry for his. It was so much better in real life where he could hear the way she said his name on a sigh and then again like she was begging. So much better when her fingernails dug into his back.

When his need to come started to build to a boiling point, Emmett reached between them. He found her clit and rubbed her hard in time with their rhythm. "You gonna come for me, babe? I wanna feel you all around me."

A few minutes more and she did. He felt her walls clenching around him. She threw her head back, arching into him, and he was so gone. He had absolutely no control over the noise he made. Better hope no one was around to record it because it was the opposite of sexy.

Not that he cared in those minutes afterward. He wasn't even embarrassed that he was trembling, shaking like a leaf. Bella was collapsed against him, boneless and sticky, and radiating heat.

He was happy.

* * *

 **A/N: And I hope you are too!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Happy Birthday, Captain America. Nothing else going on today, right?**

* * *

"Dude, you can't make vaginas in front of an audience. There will be little kids there."

At Jasper's words, Bella paused what she was doing—restocking an aisle away from where Emmett was practicing his project for the day.

"They're not vaginas, perv. They're flowers made from a Russian Tip." Emmett sounded distracted, and Bella could easily imagine him bent over his task, carefully pressing fancy flowers onto the head of a cupcake.

His best friend snickered. "There's a 'just the Russian tip' joke in here somewhere, but I can't find it." He paused a beat. "And these are vaginas."

"What the fuck do you know about vaginas anyway?"

"Just because I don't play with them doesn't mean I don't know what a vagina looks like. Are you sure _you've_ seen a vagina?"

Bella's cheeks flushed hot when she heard Emmett snicker. "That's what I'm trying to say, man. I've spent some up close and personal time with a vagina very recently"—Very recently given that he'd woken her that morning with his tongue between her legs— "and it didn't look like this."

"Thanks for that image. Bleh," Jasper said. "Are you making an actual bouquet of vaginas?"

"They're not—" Emmett huffed. "I'm calling security on your disrespectful ass. Boss!" he called out so Bella could have heard him if she was in the office.

Fighting her broad smile with little success, Bella walked around the corner. Her heart did a little clip-clop kind of beat in her chest when she saw Emmett. It had been doing that lately, which was annoying, but…

Well, his eyes always got brighter when he saw her. She had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from beaming at him. With some effort, she put on a cool expression, crossing her arms as she looked between the two men. "What's going on here?"

"Unruly customer," Emmett said, tilting his head back to his work. "You should kick his ass out of here."

Jasper smirked. So far, he was the only one who knew about her and Emmett. The day after their first/third date, when Emmett didn't come home, Jasper had bombarded both their phone numbers—Bella still didn't know how he'd managed to get a hold of hers—at five-thirty in the morning. He'd declared them even and invited them to a lunch double-date with Peter. Now that she wasn't just Emmett's boss, he'd taken to teasing her just as much as he did Emmett.

Now, he crossed his arms, mirroring her serious pose, and shook his head in mock-irritation. "Ma'am, your employee is brazenly flashing vulgar images on your fine desserts."

Emmett walked around the counter with the exuberant but gentle grin she'd come to realize he saved only for her. He extended his hand, presenting her the cupcake he'd been working on. "I got you flowers."

In spite of herself, Bella flushed with pleasure as she took the dessert. The head of the cupcake was covered with different kinds of frosting flowers, including tiny green leaves dotted here and there. It was a lovely, if small and edible, bouquet.

"Jesus," Jasper muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes. "You see, this is why there are fraternizing rules. Emmett could steal money from the till in front of your eyes, and you probably wouldn't fire him because he gave you vagina flowers."

"You know flowers are the sex organs of plants, right?" Bella asked, letting her fingertips surreptitiously brush Emmett's. "They look like vaginas in nature too."

Emmett nodded, putting on an innocent face. "That's why people refer to their virginity as their flowers. Like that Jane the Virgin chick. Or their rosebuds." He smiled as though genuinely glad to be sharing this helpful information with his friend.

"Well, that settles it. You'll have to excuse me as I have many, many florists shops to picket for indecency."

"Toodles."

Bella couldn't stop her giggle at that. Toodles. Who the hell said toodles?

Yeah, okay. She was smitten.

When Jasper left, Emmett examined the head of the cupcake he was working on. "Do you really think they look like vaginas?"

She smirked. "If I squint, sure. You can kind of see the folds and the bud right there with this tip." She pointed to a flower on her bouquet. "But mostly I think Jasper was just trying to get a rise out of you."

"Ooh." Emmett glanced around the empty shop before he tilted his head toward hers. "Well, I know of a pretty pussy that can get a rise out of me."

Bella's blood boiled hot, and she shook her head at him. "You're filthy, you know that?" she hissed under her breath.

His eyes sparkled with merriment. "Don't pretend you don't like it, boss."

Before Bella could think about responding, Emmett's eyes cut to the front of the shop. Outside the glass wall, Bella could see Carlisle crossing the parking lot, a phone to his ear. She and Emmett both straightened up.

"So, are you nervous at all about your on-screen debut?" Bella asked a little too loudly. Carlisle didn't notice, obviously wrapped up in his phone call.

Emmett put the piper down and rubbed the back of his neck. "You know I still think you're crazy, right?"

Since Emmett had to develop his classes, Bella had come up with the plan to start a vlog. There was a good chance they could go viral. After all, there was no reason to limit Emmett's audience to whomever was in the immediate area.

"Yes, I find it completely insane that anyone would find you charming, but I've learned that people are very strange."

"Your face," he mumbled, his eyes still teasing.

"Such maturity," she said, but she was smiling.

"Bella?"

Bella took another step back, away from Emmett, clutching her clipboard as she turned to the side to face Carlisle. She did her best to put her business-cap on, to concentrate on her job. There were always decisions to be made and fires to put out, especially now that they were officially embarking on this new venture.

For the last five years, particularly just after Edward's death, this job had been a refuge. It was just so manageable—all numbers, percentages, supply, and demand—when nothing else in her world made sense.

But for the first time in so many years, Bella was distracted, not by crushing grief, but by pure elation. She was so aware of the fact Emmett was in the same room. The playful mood from before hadn't lifted, and it was difficult to be so serious. She wanted to giggle, but not for any good reason.

Emmett must have been in much the same mood. He hadn't stopped grinning since Carlisle interrupted them. He'd worked diligently, trying different tips and different techniques to figure out the best flower arrangements. But when he saw her glance his way for the umpteeth time, Emmett flashed a mischievous grin that sent a thrill down Bella's spine. That was the look of a man who'd hatched a devious scheme.

Biting the inside of her lip to keep control of herself, Bella struggled to answer the question Carlisle had just asked. It was utterly ridiculous that her skin was crawling, not in disgust but anticipation.

Then again, maybe she should have given herself a little credit about her intuition. Just as she'd finally gotten a firm handle on herself so that she could give Carlisle a list of potential expenses for the vlog venture, she noticed Emmett wasn't piping onto the cupcake currently.

When she realized what he was doing, Bella started stumbling over her words. "The uh… Um. I mean… I'm not a cameraperson by any means, and umm… the lighting."

Carlisle furrowed his brow. "Words, Bella," he said, teasing gently.

Bella ducked her head with a huff. Her cheeks were so hot.

Her gigantic brat of a boyfriend had piped a flower between the V of his fingers. If it had only looked vaguely vagina-like before, now the comparison was much more accurate. He waggled his eyebrows. Under the guise of rubbing her neck, she glared in what she hoped was a look that said, "Don't you fucking dare, Emmett McCarty. I will tell your mother."

Either Emmett couldn't read her non-verbal threats or he was just that big of a brat, because he lowered his head, and ran the tip of his tongue along the flower's folds oh, so, slowly.

Bella shuddered, and Carlisle's smile fell. "Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah." The words came out warped as she had to stifle a maniacal giggle. Emmett, of course, had found the flower's bud and he was poking at it gently, tongue coming away with just the barest smidge of delicate pink frosting. "Yeah, I'm…"

Bella was mortified. And wet. Yeah. She was really wet. And Emmett was incredibly fired.

"Sorry, I just...Well, anyway. I'm going to have to talk to someone about the lighting. I'm sure the store overhead lights are fine, but you never know, so…" She ran a hand through her hair. "I'll go make those calls now."

"Okay." Carlisle looked confused, but he didn't say anything else as Bella hurried for her office. In fact, he must have turned his attention to Emmett because she heard him ask, "So, I was thinking if you wanted, you could invite your mother to the taping. Do you think she'd enjoy that?"

Bella didn't even have time to smirk about the fact Carlisle was so obviously smitten with Esme, just as she and Emmett had plotted. She couldn't get her door closed fast enough. With a soft groan, she leaned up against it, her eyes closed.

She should have been furious. That had been ridiculously unprofessional, and in front of Carlisle to boot? It wasn't that she feared discovery in any real way—she was almost ready for the Cullens to know—but _that_ way?

But no. Instead of being furious, which, she reminded herself, she had every damn right to be, she was ridiculously turned on.

Christ, that had been so filthy. So damn _naughty_. She was out-of-her-mind horny, her skin hot and tingling all over. Her nipples pebbled painfully hard. Annoyance would hit her, but maybe later, after she felt like she could catch her breath again and after her skin had cooled to somewhere below sauna level.

Her office felt stuffy, though that was probably more her imagination than reality. The shop was always just a little bit chilly. She wondered if she could dart outside without Carlisle noticing. There was only so much odd behavior he'd let go before he began to press her to find out what was wrong.

Nothing was wrong. Everything was so right, she still hadn't quite wrapped her head around it. And it wasn't just the sex, though, that was great. She liked all of it. It had been three weeks. A small amount of time for a new relationship, but she'd seen the partner Emmett could be. He was a good listener, always attentive when she talked about the things she dealt with at the shop and her latest conversation with her parents. He was an open book, talking freely about his life with his mother and sister. She marveled at his ability to acknowledge a frustration and let it go in the same breath.

"It is what it is. You kind of" —he made a clicking noise with his tongue— "readjust your reality and move on."

He'd brought so much light to her melancholy, sedate life. Not that she hadn't been living before, but these days, she felt full of life. She knew she was smiling more. Each of the Cullens had said so.

And, yeah. Apparently, she was now the kind of person who got horny to the point of distraction. At work. That was new. That was something she didn't really have context for. She and Edward had only had one class together in high school. Oh, yeah, she'd been very, very distracted sitting next to him in Biology, but it was a high school biology class. Who wasn't distracted? Not to mention, at seventeen and a virgin, she hadn't really had the experience of getting all hot and bothered over someone. That came later.

Either way, she needed to figure out how to calm the hell down. Not only—

A knock on the door interrupted Bella's mental dressing down. She yelped, coming away from the door. Her face got hot all over again, guilt twisting her stomach a bit. She felt as though her lusty thoughts had to be written all over her. She stumbled backward, sitting down in her chair behind her desk, feeling the need to hide her crotch—which she realized was utterly ridiculous given that the physical evidence of her, well, condition could be hidden without the desk.

Huffing in irritation at herself, she sat up straight and called, "Come in."

It wasn't Carlisle. Emmett filled her doorway. There was lust in his eyes that matched hers. Seeing it made her mouth go dry, but his lips tugged down slightly at the corners as though in contrition. "Hey, boss."

She swallowed hard, pressing her tongue to the roof of her mouth until she could be sure her voice would be steady. "Hello." Even that came out quite a bit more gravelly than she'd have liked.

"Carlisle took off. I just wanted—"

"Wait," Bella said.

Emmett looked a little nervous. "Wait?"

She stared at him, guilt and nerves and restlessness turning into hunger and thirst. "Carlisle is gone?"

"Yeah."

"And we're alone?"

His eyes sparked and his lip turned up at one corner. "Yeah."

They were closed for business. The three of them had come in only to work out a few things for the upcoming video shoot.

No customers. No Carlisle.

Bella pushed her office chair back so quickly it fell over. She barely heard the crash as she flew at Emmett, taking his face between her hands and kissing him. He let out a startled cry against her mouth, but then, he groaned, his arms coming around her, pulling her to him.

He tasted like frosting. The memory of his tongue between his fingers—and between her legs that morning—did nothing to slake the inferno engulfing them. She was ravenous, starved for him. She kissed him as though he were the air she breathed and she was drowning. He returned her kisses in kind, stumbling forward as she dragged him into the office and slammed the door closed behind him.

"You absolute bastard," Bella growled between kisses.

"Mmph." Emmett caught himself on her desk, his hands on either side of her, caging her up against it. He kissed her again, as unrelenting as she was. "I can confirm that my mother never wed my father."

"This isn't a game." But even as she spoke the words she knew she needed to, she'd hopped up, sitting on the edge of the desk and wrapping her legs around him. "This is work. We can't be… We can't be...Oh, fuck." He'd nudged her head to the side, and he was suckling at her neck, rubbing up against her. He was hard. Ready.

So was she.

"Sorry," Emmett said, pressing her back so she was almost horizontal. His strong arms held her firm as he kissed up to her jaw. "I won't do it again." He nipped her skin. "In fact, I'll get back to work right now."

He started to pull away from her. She let out a cry, wrapping her legs tighter around him and bringing him back. She sat up straight, grabbing him by the collar and hauling him to her so their lips were millimeters apart. "You have plenty of work to do right here." She gyrated, rubbing her center against the bulge in his pants. "A one time project."

He groaned—such a wanton sound Bella clenched her walls in response—and kissed her again. "Yes, ma'am," he rumbled into her mouth.

She slid forward into the almost nonexistent space between him and the desk. "I expect you to be quick but efficient."

"Jesus Christ," he whimpered. "Bella, you're killing me."

Their movements bordered on frantic then. Bella didn't know whose hands were on whose buttons, but somehow, they both got their pants down. Emmett took her by the waist and lifted her back onto the desk.

Was it wrong how much she liked the way he manhandled her? In this setting, it was such a damn turn on. Everything about this man made her hot.

He slid inside her with no preamble, both of them letting out a cry. Bella threw her head back and he attacked her neck again. She hadn't been kidding about fast and efficient. She needed hard and fast now. Needed him to drive the itch from her blood.

"Em." She moaned, rolling her hips to meet his, bending her knees, taking him in deeper.

He pushed her so she fell back across her desk, and his hands found her breasts, squeezing and rubbing through her shirt and bra. "You're so good. You're so fucking beautiful."

Her back arched up, bowed in the middle as she felt her climax building. "Yes," she panted. "Please. Oh."

Her walls squeezed around him, and he grunted his pleasure as he began to pulse inside her. He clapped a hand over her mouth, muffling her scream of release. He threw his head back, his own ecstasy coming out in little grunts as he jerked, thrusting in her three more times before he stilled.

Then, his head still tilted backward with one hand braced against the desk, he said the weirdest thing. "Uh. Hi."

Bella's eyes focused, and that was when she noticed that her office door—which she distinctly remembered slamming closed—was open.

She had just enough time to glimpse Carlisle standing there with Esme at his side, both of them wide eyed and startled, before the door slammed closed again.

* * *

 **A/N: I didn't want to take us out of the moment, but for the record… Bella is on birth control, and Emmett, after a questionable encounter some months before he started working for Bella, got himself checked out. They're okay. Cool? Cool.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: My third penultimate chapter this month. Fair warning. Weee, it's Friday**.

* * *

Emmett checked his fly four times before he decided he could leave the office. Yeah, so, that was awkward. Bella was clearly a bit freaked out, and that was making him feel like some type of Romeo and Juliet bullshit was going to go down. He furrowed his brow, trying to figure out how that would work.

It wasn't like his mother had some vendetta against Bella's family. And Carlisle wasn't even Bella's father.

And they were adults, what the hell? No one could force them apart. He was being dumb and nervous for no reason at all.

"Hey." He reached out and grabbed her hand, spinning her back to him. "Are you okay?"

"No," she snapped. She closed her eyes and shook her head once. "I mean… It's... " She pulled away from him, running a hand through her hair. "This isn't how I wanted to tell him."

"Totally. I mean, we should have gone full frontal."

Her face did this weird contorting thing, like she wasn't sure if she should smile or continue freaking out. She ended up giggling. "God." She ducked her head. "You're horrible."

She was smiling again. Mission accomplished. He took her hand. "Come on. Let's go figure out which one of us is more traumatized by this." He flashed a grin. "So, you get the short one, and I'll take Carlisle, right?"

"Uh huh." Bella pushed up onto the balls of her feet and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "By the way, also not the first impression I wanted to leave on your mother, you know, as the woman defiling her baby boy."

Emmett snorted. "I wouldn't worry. My mother's known me all my life. Defile my ass."

"Don't make offers you can't keep." Bella grinned back at him, kissed his chin, and pulled him out the door.

In spite of his best efforts, Emmett felt his cheeks heat. Bella's were bright red. They could hear soft murmuring at the front of the shop. Emmett glanced around a corner and had to stop himself from snickering. Carlisle and his mother were standing with their heads bent together. Sure, it was pretty clear Carlisle was in the same boat as Bella—a little freaked out—but his mother seemed to be doing a pretty good job of calming him down.

"It's at least a little funny," Esme said.

"I…" Carlisle laughed, a weird little chuckle. "How are you not more horrified than I am right now? Seeing your son like that…"

"We-ll, we really only got to see his ass. I'm his mother. I was pretty well acquainted with his ass once upon a time. It's just bigger now."

Emmett groaned under his breath, wiping a hand across his face. Beside him, Bella smothered a laugh. He shook his head, squeezed her hand, and drew her forward with him to face the music.

Carlisle's eyes darted down to their joined hands first thing. Emmett knew Bella had noticed because her grip went slack. She didn't pull away, but he thought maybe she was fighting the urge. He felt a pang but told himself it was understandable. That was probably why Carlisle was so out of sorts too. It was pretty obvious he wasn't angry, as he might have been if his problem was them being caught having sex at work. Emmett figured it couldn't be comfortable when, if life was fair, it would have been his beloved baby brother he caught with Bella in her office.

Meanwhile, his mother had her lips pressed into a thin line. She wasn't angry either. She was trying not to laugh at him. "So…"

"I'm sorry," Bella blurted. "I… We…" She looked at Esme, but her eyes kept returning to Carlisle. She let out a huff of breath and shook her head. "Can I talk to you outside a minute? Please?" She looked to Esme again. "I'm sorry." And then to Emmett with pleading eyes. "I'm sorry."

It made his heart hurt to see how disconcerted she was. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before he let her go. Carlisle nodded once at him before he followed Bella outside.

His mother watched them with narrowed eyes. "I know it's not exactly professional, but he can't be so upset you'd lose your job, right? Carlisle doesn't seem like that kind of—"

"He's not." Emmett rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, I'm sure he's not thrilled, but that"—he gestured with his chin to what was going on outside—"isn't about work."

Hoping it was okay to share, Emmett told his mother about Edward. As he did, he kept his eyes on Bella outside. She had her arms wrapped around her shoulders as she spoke to Carlisle, and Emmett had to tamp down the itch he had to run out and hug her. She looked like she needed a hug. Even as he spoke to his mother, he had the thought that if Carlisle started yelling at Bella, they were going to have words.

But Carlisle didn't look angry. His posture mirrored Bella's—self-comforting and somewhat anxious.

"How awful. This poor family." Esme put a hand to her heart, watching the two outside. "That's just devastating." She looked to him. "That's what you meant by complicated. Not the work thing, but the fact she was married and close to her husband's family."

"Yeah. She wasn't ready to go public yet, that's all," Emmett said, crossing his arms over his chest to keep his restlessness at bay. He really hated not being able to do anything when it was pretty obvious Bella was either close to crying or crying already.

"Emmett?"

The serious note in his mother's voice drew his attention. He turned away from Bella to look at her. "What?"

She was quiet a beat, thinking. "She's not… It's not that I'm unsympathetic. It has to be confusing if she hasn't been with anyone since her husband. But that doesn't mean you don't deserve someone who's invested completely in you."

"Oh." Emmett ducked his head with a small laugh. He adored his mother. "You don't have to worry about that, Ma." He shifted his feet, wondering if it was appropriate to talk to her like this. But his mother had always been his best friend. He knew he could tell her everything. "She says I'm nothing like Edward. When she's with me, she's not wishing he was there instead. That's part of what sucks for her, because she can't help feeling guilty." He waved a hand. "You know all that crap about the subconscious making things complicated or whatever."

His mother chuckled. "Feelings. Bah."

"Right?" He relaxed slightly as, outside, Carlisle drew Bella into a tight embrace. The older man cared about Bella like a little sister. "I knew he wouldn't be an ass about it."

"Carlisle be an ass?" She cocked her head, watching him, idly twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "I'd almost pay to see him angry. I can't even imagine it."

Emmett had to press his tongue to the roof of his mouth to keep from laughing. Yeah, his mom liked Carlisle. He'd been a little distracted recently. Plan Parent Trap had fallen by the wayside, and he blamed Bella for that. Funny how consuming it could be. He'd never known he could get lost in a person, that he could like silly things like just looking at her.

He watched his mother watch Carlisle with a fond, wistful smile playing at her lips. She deserved what he had. She deserved someone who would look at her the way Bella looked at him, who would want good things for her. Plan Parent Trap had to be reinstated. That would take some thinking.

In the meantime, he tilted his head toward his mother. "Bella stressed so much about what he would think. People do that. Overthink things. She's happy. I think that's scary sometimes. Being happy when you know all the things that can go wrong. But in the end…" He gestured to the two who were smiling at each other. "It's all just simple."

"Em." Esme looped her arms around his neck, and Emmett obliged her, stooping down for a kiss. She ruffled his hair affectionately. "Are you happy, baby?"

"Yeah, Ma. I'm always happy." He tracked Bella. Whatever Carlisle had said made her blush as they came back to the door. She looked up, and when she saw him looking at her, she smiled, her red-rimmed eyes alive. "Nothing not to be happy about."

Bella's expression was strangely shy—so cute—as she walked toward him. When he extended a hand, she reached out, twining their fingers together. He winked at her, and her lips twitched up. She took a deep breath and turned to face Esme.

Before she could say something, Emmett pulled her up against his side and spoke loudly. "So! How's about a double date, huh? Let's get lunch."

 _ **~0~**_

"Oh, my God. Did that whole day just happen?"

Emmett strolled at a leisurely pace behind Bella as she almost stumbled into her house. She flopped down onto the nearest chair, sprawled with one leg over the arm and her arm thrown over her eyes. It was so uncharacteristically dramatic that it made him happy.

Draping himself over the back of her chair, he was thrilled to find her shirt had ridden up just the slightest bit. He tickled the strip of exposed skin and was rewarded with a little squeak as she batted his hands away and sat up. He leaned over, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her. He liked the little shivers that went up and down his spine when she made that hot, tiny moan at the back of her throat.

But, before he went down that road…

He broke their kiss. "I don't know what you're complaining about, Swan. My day easily beat yours in weirdness."

Her smile was indulgent as she reached her hands up, rubbing her fingers along his nape. "You wanna tell me about it?"

"Mmhmm." He closed his eyes, nuzzling the side of her hair. "See, first my boss totally seduced me."

She snorted. "Right, and you didn't participate in that at all."

"I wasn't the one bringing porno classics to life. Desk sex?" He gave a shameless groan. "That was beyond hot. I'm going to get hard just looking at that desk now."

"I see. So, I'm not enough for you, but you have a thing for wood."

"I have a thing for you on wood. With my wood." Emmett squinted, trying for a moment to piece that one together. "Nevermind. I'm going to move past that bit. So. After my boss committed every possible form of sexual harassment, I was caught by my mother and my boss's boss balls deep."

"Emmett!"

"And then, I had to play matchmaker for my mom."

Bella snorted. "Yeah, that was a great diversionary tactic. Changing the subject and asking them when they were going to get together."

"Heh. I decided to take my own advice and not overthink things. Nothing wrong with being direct. Plus, come on. You can't tell me it wasn't funny to watch them sputter. Sometimes, you just gotta yank the wool from over their eyes."

"Casually changing people's lives forever," she said with a sigh.

A serious kind of look had come over her face, and she stared off into the distance. He slipped his hand down the front of her shirt, catching her attention, but when she looked up, his voice was soft. "You changed my life." He cupped his other hand around the underside of her chin, tilting her face up. "I mean, as of today, I have a vlog. That's weird and crazy."

The way she smiled at him, all teeth and sparkling eyes, told him she knew he was teasing. That was a weird, unexpected change, but it wasn't what he meant. It was all this—the flowery stuff he had no words for, that made him feel all warm inside and like he could fly all at the same time. He didn't know how to say those things; how to say that he felt like a different person because she'd shifted something fundamental about him. It was weird and scary and all kinds of awesome.

Bella indulged his distraction, though. "You were so sexy today."

"Just today?"

"I mean when you had the charisma turned all the way up." Bella stood and came around to his side of the chair. She splayed her hands over his chest, walking him backward as she talked. "I think you're going to be a superstar."

"Oh, yeah?"

Her eyes met his, and if he wasn't already turned on, the way they'd gone dark with lust would have done it for sure. She stroked her hands up and down his chest. "You know, I've never fucked a superstar."

With that, she shoved him back against the wall and dropped her her knees, her hands at his fly. "Ah, hell," Emmett said with a groan, leaning his head back against the wall and cupping a hand at the back of her head.

 _ **~0~**_

Some time later, they were lying naked and boneless in her bed. She was curled up against his side, her fingers tracing lazy circles across his skin. A feeling grew in the pit of his belly, spreading through his blood, and making it feel like his chest was full to the point of bursting. It was so _big_ for a few seconds, he felt as though he couldn't breathe.

Bella raised her head when he sucked in a sharp breath and studied him with concern in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

He wanted to laugh. He was so beyond okay it was crazy. He was kind of freaked out, because he had the sudden thought he could want this, want her, forever. And he was twenty-one. He was expecting his forever to be a long ass time. That was a lot to think about.

Taking another deep breath, he let it out slowly and cupped her cheek, smiling up at her. "I'm just peachy." He brushed her hair back over her ear. "Hey, what did Carlisle say? You never did get around to telling me."

She lay back down, draping her arm over his middle and resting her head on his arm. "He said it might be difficult. It's hard to see someone else where Edward should have been. But Edward is gone." Her voice got scratchy, and he tightened his arms around her. "Carlisle knows it's been a long time since I've been happy. Really happy," she whispered. "He said, he was glad it was you."

Emmett, hating to see Bella's pain, was sorry she'd lost her husband. But it had happened. There was no way to undo that, so yeah. He was glad it was him too. Because as much as he could understand how it might be bittersweet for the Cullen family and Bella—she and Edward should have gotten their happily ever after—he was also sure he'd been meant for this, for her. What they had was so right, he couldn't doubt she was meant to be his.

In a sudden movement, Bella rolled on top of him, her knees on the bed on either side of him. She looked him in his eyes, cradling his face in her hands and stroking her thumbs over his lips. "I love you, Emmett."

He was struck dumb by the words. All the breath left his body.

"I love you," she said again. "Not less than him. It's different. It's all yours. You know? What I feel. What we have. It's _all_ yours."

"I know," he whispered, discovering that he really, really did. His heart was pounding so fast. His mind was kind of racing, remembering his mother and the man she'd loved. Remembering the sadness Bella had carried for five years, mourning the ultimate loss of love. It was a dangerous thing. A risk.

But why should any of that stop him?

He sat up, keeping her in his arms. He kissed her. It was a serious kind of kiss. Slow and soft. "I love you too," he said with his mouth still on hers.

She giggled—a giddy little sound—and kissed him, tangling her fingers in his hair.

"You know what else Carlisle said?" Bella asked a few minutes later when they'd kissed each other breathless.

"What's that?" Emmett asked, panting.

Bella grinned at him. "You have a cute butt."

Emmett snorted. "I have a fantastic butt." He waggled his eyebrows. "You want to take a closer look?"

She rolled her eyes, kissed him again, and pulled the blankets up over their heads.

* * *

 **A/N: Cuties. Hopefully I'll be wrapping up this, Worth the Wait, and Empty Chairs at Empty Tables within a week.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: And so, we come to the end of another story. Let's get to it.**

* * *

 _ **~Eight Years Later~**_

Bella checked the camera angle one more time before she motioned to Emmett that everything was ready. He winked at her, and she felt a flush of warmth from her toes all the way up to her cheek. She smiled patiently and motioned that he should get on with it.

Emmett turned his attention to the camera and flashed his most charming grin. "Hey there, sweethearts. Welcome back. Last week, we had some fun with food color misters. Because who doesn't want to spraypaint their cupcakes, right? We got some great pictures of folks impressing the hell out of their guests—you're welcome, as usual—with chrome-plated cupcakes and LGBT cupcakes. The solid gold bat symbol is still my favorite, though. In a couple of weeks, I'm going to show you how to get a gold drip pattern on your cakes, but today isn't that day." He clapped his hands together with finality.

A tiny echo of his clap rang out accompanied by a delightful giggle. Bella smiled, watching her little monkey as she looked up at Emmett with happy, adoring eyes.

Emmett looked down with an equally smitten expression. "You may have noticed we have a very special guest with us today. Today, we're going to be talking about some Mother's Day tips and tricks, so, here as my assistant, making her online debut, is Athena Hope McCarty. She's eleven months old and, as you can see, she's the most gorgeous girl in the history of forever." He waved his hand. "No bias. Some things are just facts.

"Now, as you may have guessed, Athena and I have a lot in common. Curly hair." He fingered a lock of the baby's chocolate brown curls and then he stooped down, putting his face close to hers. He pointed to his cheek. "The dimple. I know how much you like the dimple." This time, he winked at the camera and tickled Athena's feet so she shrieked out a giggle, grinning widely and showing she did indeed have the cutest little dimple.

"But, most of all, the thing we have in common is that our moms are both super cool and beautiful. A++, best moms ever."

"Mama," Athena exclaimed, pointing helpfully in Bella's direction, still grinning a miniature replica of her father's wide, goofy grin.

"That's right. It's all about the Mommas." He clapped his hands together again and his monkey copied him. "So we're going to do two projects today. One for big kids, that's me, and one for people who, say, are still working on mastering dexterity."

He reached below the counter and brought out a prepared tray. "Everything on here is edible. We have sparkles, and sprinkles. Fruity Pebbles, though only because Athena and her momma are fans. Candy flowers."

Athena leaned over slightly, gurgling happily as she surveyed the things in front of her.

"Now, luckily for us, Athena likes dropping things more than she likes eating things, which you would never know from looking at these thunder thighs." He gave her thigh a playful pinch. "I love baby thighs."

Bella caught his attention, making a go on motion. Emmett got very distracted by Athena's chub. He said it was edible, the weirdo.

He gave a surreptitious salute and moved the cupcake in front of Athena. "Hey, mini boss. You wanna make a cupcake for Momma?" He mimed picking up the various edibles and dropping them on the white frosting of the cupcake. Once Athena got the idea, Emmett glanced back at the camera. "See, it's like arts and crafts except you can eat it."

Athena sneezed, and Bella clapped a hand over her mouth, muffling her laughter. Emmett smirked. "Well, maybe.

"Anyway. For the big kids, we're going to be playing with sheet cakes." Emmett pulled out two large sheet cakes. "So, let's talk hacks. You don't need to be the Cake Boss to get a shaped cake. I'm going to show you how to turn normal cakes into a heart—that's for my momma—"

"Momma!" Athena said excitedly.

"—and a butterfly." He ruffled Athena's hair. "That's for this one's momma, my boss." He looked to Bella with that grin that made her heart skip a beat.

The man made her happy. The baby reaching out her grubby hand, offering him a chocolate raisin. He bent his head and let her put it in his mouth. She giggled, and he returned to his cake.

"Okay. So, heart. What you do is you bake a regular round cake and a regular square cake. Cut the round cake in half. Tilt the square so it's like a diamond. Match it all up."

Bella loved watching his hands when he worked. He was deft, arranging the pieces and seamlessly reaching over to help Athena figure out the sugar glitter.

"See, making a more interesting cake is simple geometry. I bet if they taught geometry with cakes everyone would pay attention, right?" He flashed a grin at the camera. "So, a heart. The trick with all this is in the frosting. Thicker frosting. A nice buttercream works. This one is dyed red, obviously, because it's a heart. Keep up, guys, come on. Or a cream cheese, but that's a little difficult to spread. The idea is, you're trying put the pieces together."

Athena's giggles reached a disruptive crescendo. Emmett switched his attention to the baby girl. He cackled. "Look at you." He held her arm out. She was predictably covered in sugar. "You look tastier than any cupcake. Let's see."

He picked her up, flipped her upside down, and licked the sugar off her cheek as she shrieked in delight. Bella again had to smother her own mirth. In that moment, she experienced an incredible rush of pure, unadulterated joy.

What a sweet family she had. Literally.

The segment ended ten minutes later with two gorgeous cakes, one ridiculously wonderful, glittery cupcake, and two sticky, sugar-coated McCartys. Emmett, with Athena in his arms, went to her and kissed her. He always tasted so sweet.

 **~Emmett~**

Emmett looked around the table, and, for a brief moment, his life was completely surreal. From where he was sitting, he could hardly believe it had only been eight years before that he and his mother had been a team looking after their darling Alice alone.

Darling Alice had turned into a stunning teenager. She was all bright eyes, jet black hair, and a vivacious energy. When he looked at her, the woman she'd become, he felt an enormous sense of pride.

Kid was going to do big things. He'd always known it.

Then, there was his mother. He'd spent so many years watching her struggle when he was too helpless to do anything more than the lion's share of the chores. She was such a giving, awesome person, and it had hurt him to see how much she wanted to give him and later Alice but never could.

With a little encouragement from him and Bella, Esme had opened herself up to the idea that, after so much complete heart-fail, she actually could have a man who loved her and cherished her. Carlisle was everything Emmett could have asked for in a husband for his mother. Hell, he was just a little bit miffed the man couldn't really be a father to him. He was fantastic with Alice, though.

And Christopher. It was a bittersweet kind of satisfaction to see one of his siblings growing up with a doting mother _and_ father. Christopher Cullen was a cute kid. Four, "Four and many, Emmy" years old, Christopher was quieter than Emmett or Alice had ever been. Like now, he was peacefully coloring, spaced out and oblivious to the hubbub around them.

Even Jasper had finally settled down. With Peter of all people. Peter who was hot and cold and furious and...the man was drama. They'd been on-again, off-again for eight years, but Jasper was happier with him than without. Emmett supposed that was all that mattered.

Emmett's attention was drawn by a movement to his side as Athena tried to drag the silverware over to her. He grabbed it away and she let out a little cry of displeasure. "I know, mini boss."

She pouted, looking at him with big, watery eyes.

"Uh oh. The look," Bella said, obviously amused. "This is going to be interesting. The look is Daddy's weakness. I know he wants to give you whatever you want when you look at him like that, but you want knives. Hmm." She tapped her lips.

Luckily for Daddy—whoa, he was a daddy, that would never not be a trip—Athena was highly distracted by Mommy's words. She stared at Bella, eyebrows adorably furrowed as though she thought her mother might be quite insane.

Shaking his head, Emmett stood up. He was kind of giddy because he'd always wanted to do this. He picked up his wine glass—so fancy—and tapped his fork carefully on the side.

Then, he shouted anyway, "Yo! Listen up."

On the other side of him, opposite Bella, Alice covered her face with her hands. "Oh, here we go."

Emmett flashed a grin. "What's a matter, little sis?" He ruffled her hair, causing the predictable cry of outrage. "Who says this is about you?"

Alice successfully pulled away from him, glaring. "This is my graduation party. It better be about me."

"Pffft. I just needed an excuse to party. When do I get to throw a fancy party, huh?"

"You graduated. Not my fault if you didn't throw yourself a party."

"Mom and Carlisle threw me a party, but they invited an officiant and made me share with Bella." He winked at his wife. "Anyway, the point is, I want to take this time to talk about myself."

His family snickered collectively, and Emmett smirked. But then, he looked down, wondering if he was really about to admit this.

"So, I have a confession to make. A long, long time ago, I was about to graduate from high school with no idea what I was going to do for college."

"Oh, so long ago." His mother looked highly amused. "You ancient, decrepit being."

"I got a wrinkle." Emmett pointed to his cheek.

"That's a dimple."

"A dimple is just a wrinkle you had at birth. Anyway! I'm telling a story, woman." He shook his head in mock disgust. "So, college. Funny story. My bio dad showed up, like he does every once in a while. And seems like he felt bad for peacing out on the whole raising his kid and, mainly, paying for his kid, he wanted to make amends. Monetary amends. Long story short, he gave me a car"—he took a deep breath—"and offered to pay for me to go to college."

He looked to his mother, watching her eyes go wide. It would have killed her to think that his father could sweep in and provide Emmett with something she couldn't. In the end, though, that wasn't why he'd done what he'd done.

"The thing was I had this goofy little sister." He looked to Alice who was looking curiously back at him. "She was six at the time, but man. This kid. Even then, you could tell she was talented.

"Pain in the ass as she always was, Alice turned out to have that artsy kind of talented. Like she was some female protagonist in a teen romance movie with dreams to go to art school." He did the air quotes. "So, I got curious and decided to figure out what the fuck art school means. Turns out, the best schools for any kind of art, fashion, painting, whatever the hell she ended up doing, are really, really spendy. Reeeeeeeeaaallllllly spendy."

"You worked all the way through school for your sister, not yourself," Esme said, sounding both amazed and horrified.

Emmett flashed her a guilty smile. "Yeah. I know you wouldn't have wanted that for me. But, I never knew what I wanted to do. I never had a talent like that. You do what you have to. I know what you would have said, Mom, but we were a team. The three of us.

"And here's the profound part. Speeches are supposed to have a profound part. I know. I watched like 100 speeches in movies and on YouTube. Let's see how this works.

"Life is rarely ideal. But, because we had it rough in a lot of ways, because I randomly had to learn how to make fancy face cupcakes, I got this job. It should have been a blip—one of those jobs you take because you need to make money somehow." He flashed a wicked grin at Bella. "Problem was, my boss was all about sexual harassment…"

More chuckles and Bella scowled at him, but her lips softened into an adoring smile almost immediately. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, no. That's right. She somehow restrained herself because she thought I was heeeelllla gay and in love with my roommate who, by the way, isn't my type."

Jasper exchanged a glance with Peter. They made goo-goo eyes at each other. Emmett made a mental note to give him shit about it later.

"So, that's the thing I have to say to you, little sister. I look around at my life, and damn. It's awesome. I'm some kind of YouTube star who gets to make dessert for a living. My wife is way too smart for me, and damn. You're so hot, boss."

"Thanks, babe." Bella's cheeks were tinged pink, but her eyes swept over him the same way they did when she was about to jump his bones. "You're okay. I mean, I prefer an eight pack and you only have six, so…"

Oh, he was going to throw her over his shoulder the second the baby went down.

Anyway.

"I got the cutest kid in the world. My mom is happy. I finally have that little brother I begged for when I was five. And because Carlisle and Mom make such a great team, I don't have to pay for Alice's insane school. Fucking Barcelona, kid? Really?" He shook his head. "But it means I can throw this badass party.

"So, here's to my baby sister. You're going places, short stuff. Sometimes, those places aren't going to look so good. Some of them will look just…" He shrugged. "But, you never know where you're going to find your next adventure. You got this, Ally, and I'm proud of you."

Their family applauded. Alice kissed his cheek and clung to his neck. Bella patted his knee under the table, the same happiness reflected back at him.

Life couldn't get any sweeter.

 _ **~The End~**_

 **A/N: So many thanks to Betsy, Ausha, Mina, MoH, Packy, and Eleanor for all their help.**

 **Thanks for coming along on this journey. Writing Emmett is fun. I hope you enjoyed.**


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